Achilles Heel
by tf330129
Summary: When Baal uses his time machine to go back in time and change history. He didn't know what he would awaken. He thought that fighting the Eagle was bad. He has just awoken the Lion. AU of Stargate Continuum
1. Chapter 01 - Prologue

**Achilles Heel**

**Disclaimer: **This is an AU of the movie Stargate Continuum.

I don't own Stargate as it belongs to MGM. I only own this story and any original content.

**Chapter 01 – Revealing the Past**

**HMS Vanguard**

**The Denmark Strait**

**North Atlantic**

**24th September 1950**

The end of the Second World War hadn't been kind to the British Empire. Indeed those who were once allies had become enemies, those that had been allies had become belligerents. Crippled by massive debt it seemed that the British Empire would be forced to take a back-seat as the new superpowers the United States and the USSR came to the stage.

Not that you could feel that aboard the Royal Navies newest battleship HMS Vanguard (23). Though the atmosphere on board was tense with the recent discovery of the Soviet Spy Ring it didn't detract from the crew's professionalism. Indeed the ship was having a rare break from its royal duties to patrol the Denmark Strait. Though Captain James Hood had to question the thinking that lead to that decision.

The completion of the Soyuz-Class had certainly come as a surprise. While construction had been postponed during the war the program hadn't been cancelled as most navies had thought. With a length 269 metres, a beam 38.9 metres and a draft of 10.4 metres. With a weight of 59,000 tones standard load and 65,000 tones fully loaded and armed with twelve sixteen-inch guns in three triple turrets. These new vessels matched the Americans Iowa-class ships in terms of firepower. At least on paper with serious doubts being about the quality of the materials that the armour was made from.

More worryingly fifteen of these ships had been ordered with eight currently in commission and another six being built to a modified design. Though intelligence services hadn't managed to obtain the exact details of the modifications. It was thought that these ships were meant to counter the American Montana-Class. Which had been ordered alongside two additional Iowa-class ships to counter the threat of the Soyuz-Class. Also, it seemed the Soviets were determined to build a large navy. With the large numbers of destroyers and cruisers being built.

In comparison, all the Royal Navy had was the new HMS Vanguard and the four surviving King George V-Class Battleships. HMS King George V, HMS Duke of York, HMS Anson and HMS Howe. Which didn't match-up to the soviet ships and indeed the government was considering scrapping the King George V-Class.

In fact, even with the war in Korea a lot of the surface fleet was being downsized. The fact that they couldn't afford to complete the Lion-Class Battleships was something that left a sour taste in the mouth of most Captains.

Indeed that was something that surprised him. While they had been allies in the Second World War recent events had made them question that decision. With the destruction of the German Spy Ring at the start of the second world war. They had been able to uncover and dismantle the Soviet Spy Ring. It was only the war and a few choice words from the Americans that prevented the tensions from boiling over into conflict.

The following lend-lease agreement had only extended that distrust to the Americans. As the destroyers, they had given them were only just seaworthy much less combat-capable. Needless to say, some of the things said by the diplomats upon receiving the news where best not put down on paper. The actions of the Americans during the postwar period only served to heighten that distrust even further. With the Americans reneging on the Atomic Agreement and keeping the knowledge to themselves.

Regardless of the reason, they had been at sea for the past six days. With the weather setting in everybody was getting the ship ready for rough weather. The seas had been exceedingly rough this year with swells above the norm. For Captain Hood sitting in the privacy of his cabin, the question was where to go next. They had detected signs of the presence of soviet subs the day before. But the SONAR contact was faint and they had quickly lost track of it.

Still, he wasn't in a hurry after all the Royal Navy had learnt its lesson about captain ships hunting submarines during the war. It was not a good idea. So he had just reported the contact to headquarters before resuming his patrol.

As he poured himself a cup of tea he couldn't help but think of where he was. It was here almost nine years ago that the Battlecruiser HMS Hood. The ship named after his grandfather Horace Hood went down sunk by they battleship Bismark. It was something that his crew was thinking of as they continued their patrol. Already several men had voiced their desire to try and find the wreck. Indeed he wanted to do just that but their orders were clear and he didn't think the admiralty would take kindly to any deviation of them.

The squeak of the comm interrupted the silence "Captain Hood please come to the CIC. Repeat Captain Hood please come to the CIC". Sighing he finished off the last of his tea straightened his uniform jacket picked up his cap and exited the cabin. As he walked down the corridor he couldn't help but scowl at the wooden cladding that was still attached. He had been told that as they weren't expecting any action that there was no need to remove it. Still, it wasn't something he liked. Sure he like the rest of the crew considered it to be an honour to ferry the royal family but this was a warship, not a yacht. If they got into a fight the cladding would go up as easily as gasoline especially with the varnish coating.

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts he finally arrived at the CIC. The room itself was fairly was long and narrow with consoles and men on either side. The crew noticed him enter but before they could stand he said "At Ease" before walking over to the Radar station. Where the XO Lieutenant Alexander Mathews was leaning over the crewman manning the console. Not even looking over his shoulder he said "Approximately ten minutes ago we detected a large surface contact at the extreme edge of our radar range. The contact is too strong to be just ice and it is not transmitting any kind of identification. We have been trying to hail it for the past five minutes but so far it has refused all contact." he finished before nodding to the radio operator.

"This is HMS Vanguard of her majesty's royal navy to the unknown vessel bearing North-West of our position. Please state your name, affiliation and purpose for being in restricted waters. If you don't comply you will be boarded. I repeat this is her majesty's warship HMS Vanguard to the unknown vessel in our path. Please state your name, affiliation and purpose for being in restricted waters. If you do not comply you will be boarded". However same as the previous transmissions there was nothing but static.

Looking at the image Captain Hood asked: "What is its heading and has it changed since you noticed it?".

His XO simply shook his head "Its current heading would put it on a direct course for the Ice pack. Given that there hasn't been any response and the fact that it has been travelling at a slow if constant speed. And that if it was another vessel than they would at least identify themselves. Given everything, I'd say it was a ghost ship".

Captain Hood seemed to think for a moment before asking "Where is this Ghost Ship" directing the question to the crewmen manning the console.

"Based on the fact that it is at the extreme range of our radar. I'd guess that the ship is at least two hundred and seventy miles away, sir" the crewmen responded promptly.

"And how long would it take to get there?" he continued.

"Based on our current speed of fifteen knots, I'd say eighteen hours. Though if we increased speed to twenty knots it would cut the intercept time down to thirteen and a half hours. Though that could change given the weather front coming down from the arctic" the crewmen replied.

"And how long until that weather front hits us".

"Around seven hours sir".

Captain Hood thought for a moment before saying "Put me ship-wide". "This is the Captain. Ten minutes ago we detected a vessel two hundred and seventy miles away from our current location. This vessel has refused to identify itself and continues on a heading into the arctic ice pack. As Captain of this ship, I have decided to intercept and board this vessel. Increase speed to twenty knots and commence rough weather preparations. Batten down the hatches people it's about to get rough" he finished. Turning to his communications officer he said "Send a transmission to Headquarters. Inform them of our find and our intentions".

As the crew set about readying the ship for rough whether he didn't know why but he began to feel something in his gut. He had only felt something like this twice before. Once the night before the Pearl Harbour Raid and before the Battle of Midway. Though then he had only been a liaison with the American Navy. Considering the consequences of both occasions he didn't know whether or not this was a good thing or a bad thing.

Still, they would know in roughly fourteen hours either way.

**HMS Vanguard (23)**

**Arctic Circle**

**North Atlantic**

**25th September 1950**

In the hours since the Vanguard had changed course the weather had changed dramatically. Unlike the relatively calm seas the previous day the storm had caught up to them and now the ship rocked swaying from side to side as waves impacted the hull. To make matters worse they only had intermittent contact with the unknown vessel. The storm was intermittently disrupting the sensor array. Though they could tell the ship was getting closer.

As the ship was rocked back and forth Captain Hood was looking at the radar display in the CIC. "This is HMS Vanguard of her majesty's royal navy to the unknown vessel bearing North-West of our position. Please state your name, affiliation and purpose for being in restricted waters. If you don't comply you will be boarded. I repeat this is HMS Vanguard of her majesty's royal navy to the unknown vessel bearing North-West of our position. Please state your name, affiliation and purpose for being in restricted waters. If you don't comply you will be boarded" came from the communications officer.

They had been broadcasting for the past fourteen hours and so far there had been no reply. Not that he expected anything at this point. As the ship rocked to the left he turned to the XO and said "I'm going to the bridge. Based on the radar image we should make contact within the next ten minutes or so. Take command here". The XO nodded and as he left took the captains previous position.

Walking through the corridors, he was occasionally forced to brace himself as the ship continued to be hit by wave after wave. This was by far some of the nastiest weather he had ever en-counted in all his years at sea. If it got any worse then he would have to call off the interception and retreat to calmer waters. Climbing the stairs he walked along another corridor before finally arriving on the bridge.

The Bridge was fairly compact for a battleship but it was still big enough to house ten crewmen one of whom noticed him enter and shouted: "OFFICER ON DECK!". As he said this everybody stood to attention before Hood said "At Ease. Return to your duties". Before taking his seat in the captain's chair. Illuminated only by the ships lighting the darkness and spray meant that they could only just barely see the bow as it cut through the waves.

Turning to his aide, he ordered "We can't see anything in this bloody weather. Turn on all searchlights". His aide nodded before walking over to the comm station and communicating the order. Moments later spotlights at the bow came on the bright white light shot out into the darkness. While across the vessel other searchlights turned on and soon every one of the lights on the ship was active and searching the waves for their objective.

Half an hour passed without any contact before finally one of the searchlights at the bow briefly made contact with something. Almost immediately the searchlight retrained its sights and soon announced over the comm "Contact sighted!". Soon every searchlight was trained on the contact which illuminated something that hadn't been seen in over twenty years.

Clearly, the vessel had seen better days for starters it was old really old and they could see that it had better days as the vessel was covered in rust and seaweed. All the windows had been destroyed and the interior was open to the elements. What was more surprising was the large circular hole nine meters in diameter in the side.

Looking at the vessel more closely James noticed a number of gashes in the side. If they didn't do anything soon then the ship would sink. Thinking quickly he ordered "Bring us alongside and throw a tow line over. We need to do something before that ship takes on enough water and capsizes". With that said the crew quickly carried out their orders and soon the Vanguard was side by side to the smaller vessel. Quickly the marines boarded and soon the crew began to tie the two ships together covering the hole.

With the operation complete it was decided to wait until daylight to explore the rest of the ship. As the searchlight continued to run along the side, before it finally focused on the bow and revealed the vessels name.

_Achilles_

**Achilles**

**Arctic Circle**

**North Atlantic**

**25th September 1950**

After they had successfully anchored the vessel to the Vanguard the marines and crew had retreated back to the ship. The decision had been simple to make as a number of factors simply didn't make exploration of the vessel possible at the time. The first was the weather as the time it was rough and the waves could easily sweep a crewman overboard. The second was the darkness that limited visibility. The final part was the uncertain nature of the Achilles structural integrity.

It was eventually decided to wait until daylight and reassess the options which turned out to be the right call as there was a brief pause in the rough weather. However this far north in the winter they only had a few hours of daylight. As soon as the sun appeared over the horizon the marines assembled on deck ready to repel down to the vessel.

Soon Captain Hood exited the superstructure and as soon as he appeared one of the marines noticed him and shouted "ATTENTION!". As one every marine stood in perfectly ordered lines with their rifles at the side. "At Ease" Hood spoke and the men relaxed a little.

"Gentlemen your mission today will be to explore the Achilles and find out what happened to her. Now we don't know what kind of shape she is in given that she has been at sea for twenty years. Which was one of the reasons why I suspended any kind of exploration last night. So remain vigilant and pay attention. If nothing else comes of this then see if you can find and recover the bodies of the crew. So we can at least send them back to their families. God Speed Men" he finished.

As one the marines saluted before the first group attached themselves to the cables and stepped up to the rails, climbed up, turned around and started to repel down the side. When their feet hit the deck and the men had cleared the area more marines followed before finally the boarding party was on board.

As the marines went about securing the deck Major Jonathan McKay surveyed their progress. The man was in his early forties but the scar running down his face showed he was a veteran. He had seen action during the second world war and had been part of the D-Day landings. Being part of the first assault on Juno Beach he had won a Victoria Cross for his actions that day. Comparing the men he had then to now all he could think was Rookies before chuckling to himself.

One of the marines walked up to him before saluting and saying "Deck secure sir". He nodded to the marine before saying "Alright, men split into five teams of four and sweep this ship from top to bottom. Remember as the Captain said to pay attention as the entire structure of this ship has been exposed for twenty years to the sea. I don't have to remind you what that does to a ship do I?" before switching his voice to that of a low growl. "Because if I find out that one of you was injured for something stupid. Then you will be sent back to school. Do I Make Myself Clear!".

"We Get You SIR!" came the reply.

"Good. You three come with me the rest of you move out". With that everybody split into teams and began to search the Achilles. Two teams searched the port side while another two searched starboard and Major McKay's team entered via the bridge. Upon entering the first thing the major's keen eye noticed was the unusual scorch marks. What was more worrying was the scorch marks ran in a perfect line towards the port exit door.

Then one of the marines said "Sir, casings". That certainly attracted his attention and he joined the marine. Bending down he picked up and examined the remains of the cartridge. "This is a 7.62mm cartridge" before muttering "This is the last thing we need" after all only one military used that type of round. "Major take a look at this" came from the marine to his left. Getting up and walking over he saw what the marine was looking at "She must have running at full power until she was bone dry". This was really beginning to creep him out.

Unstrapping his radio he pressed the transmit button "This is Major McKay to all teams report in". Almost immediately the replies came.

"This is team Bravo at the stern nothing to report".

"This is team Charlie we are seeing evidence of one hell of a firefight" that certainly got his attention.

"Where are you?" he replied concerned. Something just didn't feel right.

"We are in the ship's galley" came the reply before the rest of the teams cleared with nothing to report and team Charlie provided the directions. Soon the major along with team alpha arrived at the galley. The walls outside had been covered in bullet holes and there where a number of skeletons clutching a strange kind of staff.

Upon entering the galley itself the major couldn't help but agree with team Charlie's assessment. The tables had been upended and now sat on their sides in a circle pointing towards both doors. Again the major noticed the strange scorch marks and again like the marks on the bridge. All of the marks were focused on the tables and evidently based on the hole in one of them had melted through. Behind the tables were the skeletons of the crew along with a number of old fashioned rifles and what looked like three black AK-47's. Something that wasn't possible as the AK-47 rifle had only entered mass production three years ago.

Looking at the scene, his mind somewhat pieced together what had happened. At some point in the vessels voyage, they had been boarded by the people holding the staffs. After a desperate firefight, the crew of the Achilles had made a final last stand in the galley. Before being overwhelmed and killed.

Then he heard one of the newest marines private Jenkins say "What's this thing" before picking up a small ball the size of a large orange. The private then did something monumentally stupid as he pressed the small button on the top. The preceding whining certainly got the majors attention as his head snapped around in time to see the object start to pulse. Realising exactly what the idiot was holding he rushed over and snatched it off the idiot. Before beginning a mad dash through the ship and up the stairs. Reaching the top deck he threw it overboard just time as the object soon detonated as it started to sink.

While mitigated slightly by the water the explosion was still large. With the explosion throwing a large volume of water into the sky somewhat reassembling a depth charge. The shock-wave then reached the ship knocking every marine still on the deck off their feet and slamming Major McKay straight into the wall and knocking him out. Onboard the vanguard the damage was minimal with the shock-wave blowing out the windows on the bridge. Causing some minor injuries as shards of glass cut into unprotected skin.

As the major regained consciousness the first thing he heard which rather worried him was the groaning. Evidently, the vessels structure wasn't meant to handle explosions of that size. Though eventually the groaning stopped and the major had regained enough balance to stand up. Leaning against the wall he picked up his radio which was laying beside him the force of the blow having knocked it off his belt. Growling he pressed the transmit button and said "Everybody report".

Thankfully everybody only reported minor injuries. Now his thoughts turned to the private and naturally he was extremely angry I said be careful goddammit! Before getting up and going back down the stairs and returning to the galley. Spotting the idiot he walked over. The idiot obviously noticed his cold fury as he took a step back before the major finally reached him picked him up by the scruff of his suit and slammed him over the serving counter.

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE PLAYING AT YOU MORON!. YOU COULD HAVE KILLED US ALL!" he shouted in the man's face before throwing him to the floor. Turning to one of the other marines he said: "Lieutenant this idiot is relieved of duty. Take his weapons and escort him to the brig".

The Lieutenant saluted saying "Sir" before he and his squad escorted the marine back to the vanguard. As the major calmed down the radio crackled to life and the voice of Captain Hood made itself clear. "This is Captain Hood to Major McKay report! What the hell happened over there".

"Sorry about that sir, Private Jenkins decided to mess with something explosive. He has been relieved of duty and a team is escorting him to the brig. Are there any injuries?".

He could almost hear the sigh as the captain responded "Thankfully only minor though all the ships windows had been blown out. We will be ready for Jenkins when he is back on board".

"There is something else sir. Before the explosion, we discovered and eventually confirmed that a large firefight had taken place. What's more, is that some of the bullet cartridge's we recovered are 7.62mm rounds" he trailed off.

The captain seemed to be thinking before he replied saying "But isn't that the same type of round as the Russians use?".

"That's correct sir. Before the explosion, we also found three AK rifles". The silence was almost deafening and went on for a minute before the reply came.

"That's the last thing we need," the captain said before sighing "I take it they had gotten here before us".

"That's the thing, sir, I don't think so. Based on the position of the bodies it looks like they were defending the ship with the crew. Along with the fact that we found another set of bodies covered in some kind of chain-mail armour plating. And from the positions of the bodies, I'd say they were the ones attacking the ship. Honestly, sir, this whole thing doesn't make any sense".

The captain seemed to think it over for a moment before the sound of paper rustling could be heard. "I just got a message from command. According to the records, the Achilles was a government-contracted freighter. Her last mission was to transport artefacts recovered from a dig conducted by Professor David Langford. She departed Alexandria on the 29th of August and made contact with Gibraltar a week later. All contact was lost at some point midway during her journey. A preliminary investigation was begun but with the entry of America into the second world war the investigation was cancelled. Though it appears that the professor has apparently been trying to get them to reopen the investigation. With little success given the government's current priorities".

Evidently upon hearing this the major couldn't help but agree. "What do you want us to do sir".

"Continue exploring the ship and find the artefacts related to the Langford expedition. You have two hours if you don't find anything of interest. Recover the bodies and anything of interest and we will scuttle the ship. Can't leave anything that may lead the Russians to even suspect we were here".

"Yes sir, orders received and understood out" he replied before the radio clicked off. Turning to the other men who by this point had gathered in the galley he said. "Alright, we have our orders. Bravo team you stay behind and catalogue everything you see here. The rest of you follow me to the cargo hold".

With that said McKay lead the remaining teams down the stairs and towards the cargo bay. Here they immediately saw more evidence of the intense firefight with multiple bullet casings and more scorch marks on the crates. Splitting up they searched parallel to each other with team alpha taking the centre. Seeing a clipboard one of the marines picked up and examined the contents.

"Major it says that crates marked SG one to twelve contain the Langford expedition artefacts".

"Good find let's move" he replied. With the knowledge of where to look, it didn't take them long to find what they were looking for.

Though how anybody would miss the nine-foot hole would be anybody's guess.

The crate labelled SG1 had a hole shaped like a perfect circle nine metres in diameter curved out of it lining up exactly with the hole on the side of the ship. But that wasn't the interesting thing. Again they noticed an AK rifle laying to the side behind a crate still being clutched onto by the skeleton of the man holding it.

In front of the crates was a ramp leading to the crate labelled SG1. A hole nearly nine metres in diameter as the perfectly curved circle lined up with the hole in the ship lining up perfectly. Clustered around the ramp where a number of bodies all wearing the strange armour that the attackers wore. This must be where the attack began McKay thought. What was interesting was what the ramp lead to.

The perfectly curved ring sitting in the centre.

**Authors Note: **Hello people and welcome to my newest story idea Achilles Heel. Now this story is a Brit wank and as you will see in later chapters. This story deals with Baal succeeding in his plot. Though it has consequences that he never imagined. He thought the Eagle was a nightmare to face.

He has just awoken the Lion.


	2. Chapter 02 - Changing Fortunes

**Achilles Heel**

**Disclaimer:** This is an AU of the movie Stargate Continuum.

I don't own Stargate as it belongs to MGM. I only own this story and any original content.

**Chapter 01 – Changing Fortunes******

**September 1950**

The damage to the wall of the freighter _Achilles _is patched and the vessel is given enough repairs to survive the trip back to the United Kingdom. This trip will take two weeks and the battleships HMS Howe and Anson are dispatched to take its place. The cruisers HMS Tiger and Blake are detached from its patrol duty to provide escort for the ships. The Prime Minister Winston Churchill is informed and immediately places a strict information blackout in place. From now on no transmissions are to be sent until the convoy docks at HMNB Clyde.

**November 1950**

Under strict blackout, the cruisers HMS Tiger and Blake meet up with HMS Vanguard and fall into escort formation. Along the way, they detect the presence of a submarine trailing the convoy. Though they quickly lose contact in the worsening weather. Meanwhile, the mysterious armour is examined onboard the Vanguard. It is quickly determined that the material was an incredibly durable alloy and light. Though what is shocking is that none of the elements matches anything on the periodic table.

The weapons recovered are also examined and while the staff weapons match the composition of the armour. Further examination reveals that the AK's are made of a carbon fibre material that is durable and lightweight though not to the extent of the 'alien' material. Also one of the rifles uses 5.56mm cartridges of a type not in manufacture anywhere on earth.

Meanwhile, the vessels doctor examined the bodies some which were in remarkably good condition. Upon examining the more intact bodies which had some kind of tattoo the doctor was surprised to discover that they had some kind of poach located in the region of the stomach. Opening it up revealed the interior was moist and reaching in the doctor felt something surprisingly similar to an eel. Carefully removing the object revealed a foot-long snake-like creature though it is already dead.

Examination of the skeletons of the crew reveals that they were killed by a high-intensity energy blast. This is surprising as it is the first real evidence that a direct energy weapon is possible. Though they have the suspicions that it was generated from the staff weapons recovered nobody wanted a repeat of what happened the last time anybody messed with the artefacts. Testing would be done in a dedicated facility.

In mid-November, the four-ship convoy arrives in UK waters and soon after docks at HMNB Clyde. The contents of the freighter are unloaded at night and transferred to a secure train bound for Scapa flow naval base. Once there they are transferred to a secure warehouse where testing would begin.

**Approaching Guarded Entrance  
Scapa Flow Naval Base  
United Kingdom  
December 09th 1950**

_Scotland sure is beautiful _Major Jonathan McKay thought as he drove along remote road towards that lead towards Scapa Flow. The past couple of weeks had been an exercise in frustration for the major. As soon as they had arrived on shore the crew had been taken to a secure facility and subject to an endless amount of interviews. Though most of the questions had been focused on the ring artefact they had found. Not that the major knew anything about it after all he had only been the one to find it.

Still, after a week of interviews, the intelligence service had eventually been satisfied that they had told the all they knew. They had been forced to sign a Non-Disclosure agreement that said if they talked about what they had seen then they would be arrested for treason. Something that told McKay that something more serious was going on. Afterwards, he and the crew were given a week leave before he received a call ordering him to report to Scapa Flow Naval Base.

That was a days ago and now approaching the guarded entrance to the base he had reached the end of the road. Seeing the armed guard held his hand up he slowed to a halt just before the barrier. As the guard approached him he lowered his driver side window.

"Name, Rank and Reason for being here," the guard said.

"Jonathan McKay, Major. Ordered to report Scapa Flow Naval Base by the admiralty" he replied handing the guard his credentials and the relevant documents.

The guard looked them over before returning to the booth and handed them to the other guard who proceeded to pick up a phone. A few moments later the guard put the phone down and handed the documents back to the other guard. Who then proceed to walk back to his car.

"Everything appears to be in order, sir. You may proceed. Go to the headquarters to receive your ID card and report to Admiral Vian" before handing him his documents standing to attention and saluting.

"Thank you, soldier, carry on" he replied as the guard at the booth raised the barrier and he drove through the checkpoint. As he drove down the road he could see the Fleet Air Arm facility and a number of Hawker Hunter jet fighters on the tarmac waiting to take off. He finally caught sight of the anchorage itself.

As the base of the Royal Navies Home Fleet, the anchorage was a hive of activity with trucks of all kinds carrying supplies back and forth. Though several ships had been detached to support the forces in the Korean War. A large fleet was still present including three carriers to counter the Soviet's Atlantic fleet based at Murmansk. Still, that didn't mean the home fleet was toothless. From his car, he could see at least three Invincible-Class carriers at anchor and numerous cruisers and destroyers. As well as several submarines.

Proceeding further into the base he arrived at the headquarters. The headquarters was built in a classic Victorian style in red brick with the entrance covered in white marble. Pulling up he parked his car a silver Aston Martin DB2 shut the engine off. Opening the door he stepped out before locking it and walking towards the entrance. Walking up the marble stairs the guard at the entrance seeing his rank saluted him before opening the wooden doors.

The inside was just as grand as the outside. With mahogany lining, the walls a marble floor and white marble columns completed the look. Passing over the seal of the Royal Navy he approached the receptionist. "Major Jonathan McKay reporting as ordered," he said.

"Just give me a second" the receptionist a young women with black hair replied. Checking a book she said, "Ah, here is your ID sir, Admiral Vian is waiting for you in room six" she finished as she handed him his pass.

"Thank you" he replied courtly before taking his pass and heading up the elegant wooden staircase passing by a few officers nodded their heads before arriving at the first floor. Continuing down the corridor he turned left and arrived at a door which read.

**Admiral of the Home Fleet.**

Taking a deep breath he knocked on the door a couple of times. "Come in" came the reply and he opened the door. The inside of the room kind off reminded him of a study with maps and drawings stacked on the shelves in neatly ordered piles. The other wall was covered in a bookshelf filled with books. Only broken up by the fireplace with a fire that was dying out.

And sitting behind a wooden desk looking at something was the commander of the Home Fleet Admiral Sir Phillip Vian. The painting on the wall behind him showing an interpretation of the Battle of Jutland. Taking his cap off he held it at his side before saluting and saying "Major Jonathan McKay reporting as ordered sir".

Finally looking up the noticed him and said "Ah, Major please seat" directing him to the green velvet chair in front of the desk. As the major sat down he said: "I trust the journey here wasn't too arduous".

Taking his seat he replied "Not at all sir. Scotland is rather nice this time of year".

The admiral seemed to like that as he smiled and said "Good, would you like a drink".

"Thank you, sir".

Picking up the phone, the admiral dialled a number before holding it to his face and saying "Ah, Linda could you bring a pot of hot tea and cups up for me, please. Thank you" he finished before putting the phone down.

Looking at the major, with a stern expression, he said: "I take it you are wondering why you are here".

"It has been on my mind sir" the major replied slowly.

Before the admiral replied they heard a knock on the door and the admiral said: "Come in". The door opened revealing a young woman who was carrying a silver tray with a steaming teapot. "Ah, Jasmine thank you please pour a glass for me and the major. Thank you" she nodded her head before setting the tray down on the desk. Picking up the cups she placed them on the desk before opening the teapot and filling the cups. Placing to silver teapot on the desk she picked up the empty one and left the room.

Picking up the pot containing the milk, the admiral poured it in and stirred it before handing it to the major. Then he picked up a teaspoon and proceeded to place two teaspoons in his cup. Looking up at him the admiral said "Do you want some" gesturing to the pot containing the sugar.

"No thank you sir" he replied politely.

With that done the admiral took a sip saying "Ah, always hits the spot" smiling drinking some before placing it down on the desk. As the admiral now looked at him with a stern expression Jonathan could tell that what the admiral was about to talk about was serious. And subconsciously he straightened in his seat.

Putting his hands together on the desk the admiral leaned forward and said: "I take it you are wondering why you are here".

"It was on my mind sir" McKay replied.

The admiral seemed to consider something before picking up a folder labelled Top Secret and pulled out what looked like a series of photos. Handing him a photo he said "In 1928 during an archaeological dig in Egypt Professor Paul Langford made a discovery. That discovery was a cover-stone underneath which sat a perfectly curved ring nine metres in diameter and made of an element never before seen on earth. Naturally, this attracted this interest of the British Government and we assisted in examining this artefact. However, we didn't make much headway during the next ten years. When the second world war broke out Professor Langford was able to convince the American government to help transport it out of Egypt. Something the government of the time naturally objected to. However, at the time the war and the need for American war material meant that the government ignored it. And when the _Achilles _was lost all thoughts about the ring went with it".

He took a deep breath before handing him another photograph. "Now we knew that Nazis were searching for mythical artefacts and naturally something like the ring caught their interest. So they funded their own dig and in 1937 discovered this" indicating the photograph. The photo itself was low quality likely taken from some distance away but it clearly showed some kind of pedestal.

"Soon after they transported it back to Berlin and we lost track of it. As you can imagine we had a lot of other priorities" the admiral finished.

"Understandable sir, but this isn't the end of the tale I take it?" Jonathan asked.

"Indeed major it isn't. After the Russians took the city in forty-five and we sorted out the occupied zones. We began searching the facilities for anything interesting and in a bunker underneath one of the flak towers guess what we found".

Jonathan looked up from the photo and answered "The pedestal" before handing the photos back and drinking his tea.

"Correct. Soon after that, it was transported back to the UK along with a number of other artefacts. Now I won't bore you with the technical details of what we found when we examined it. However, take a look at the top of the pedestal and the interior of the ring what do they have in common. The two photos were taken this week." he finished handing two close-up photos to Jonathan.

Holding them closer Jonathan initially didn't see anything. However, he soon noticed the symbols on the pedestal and the ring matched. Then out of the corner of his eye, he saw the paper that the admiral had been reading before he came in. On it was a constellation that looked oddly similar the symbols on both devices. As it finally clicked and his eyes went wide in realisation he looked up to the admiral and said "There constellations" in astonishment.

That had been the correct response as Admiral Vian smiled and said "That's correct. Now, these ordinarily wouldn't mean much but combined with what you found onboard the _Achilles _and combined with what was written on the cover-stone we can only conclude that it is some kind of transportation device".

Jonathan simply leaned back in his chair drank the rest of his tea and in an amazed tone asked "What kind of transportation device?".

Admiral Vian seemed to smile at this and like Jonathan leaned back in his leather chair. Pulling out another piece of paper from the folder he said "This is what we have been able to translate from the cover-stone. 'A million years into the sky is Ra, sun god, sealed and buried for all time. His Stargate'. And underneath that inscription was this" he finished before handing the major the photo.

Displaying a series of six symbols in a line with a seventh just below it.

The major closed his eyes for a moment as the revelation came to him before opening them and saying "You mean to tell me that this 'stargate' can transport people to other planets".

"That's what the boffin's think Major McKay and if it had just been the matching symbols on the gate we probably wouldn't have thought much of it. However, when combined with what you found the _Achilles _it is obvious what happened. During transit, the stargate activated and a number of 'aliens' came through. Before-after facing resistance killed the crew and setting the vessel on a course towards the arctic. Finally, they retreated back through the gate though at present unknown means as they didn't have the pedestal. Though only thing we that doesn't make sense is the futuristic AK assault rifles". With this, the admiral finished the now cold tea before pouring himself another cup.

"Nowhere is where you come in. Provided you accept you will be promoted to a full Colonel and transferred to the newly created 'Imperial Stargate Operations' or ISO for short. Your job will be simple. Provided that you can successfully activate the gate. You will be responsible for leading the first of hopefully many teams whose job will be exploring new worlds and recover anything that could be of use to the British empire here on earth. To defend against terrestrial and extraterrestrial threats" he finished.

Jonathan thought it over for a moment before saying "I accept sir".

Admiral Vian smiled before saying "I thought you would. Congratulations are in order then Colonel McKay. As soon as you can proceed over to the main islands old airship hanger which has been set up to serve as a temporary base. Until a purpose-built facility can be constructed. The new equipment will be provided for you when you get on sight. You will also be introduced to your tea members there. Dismissed Colonel". He finished handing the newly promoted colonel the relevant documents and shaking his hand.

Jonathan stood up, shook the admiral's hand, saluted and said "Sir" before turning around and exiting the room. Closing the door he couldn't help but take a deep breath and smiled before thinking to himself.

_Looks like the world just__got a whole lot bigger._

**December 1950**

Major Jonathan McKay is promoted to the rank of Colonel and is placed in charge of the first of many Imperial Stargate Teams or IST for short. Immediately he starts training with the rest of his new team IST-01. Major John Smith is his second in command followed along with Lieutenants Ralph Snider and Jack Armstrong.

Meanwhile testing on a set of recovered armour reveals that the current standard British cartridge the .303 often fails to do any damage to it. Further testing reveals that the .280 rounds also do little damage often requiring a full clip to penetrate. However, testing of the recovered 5.56×45mm cartridges recovered revealed that it was superior. Often requiring only five or six shots to penetrate while being suitable for fully automatic firing. Further testing is halted however due to the limited supply.

As a result of the tests the Ministry of War to submit a request to Royal Enfield to re-chamber the EM-2 Assault Rifle in this calliper. Also, a rail attachment system similar to the recovered rifles is requested be installed on both the top and underside of the barrel. It is hoped that this would allow for several attachments to be fitted later giving the rifle more functionality.

Meanwhile, careful examination of the staff weapons revealed that it is indeed an energy weapon. Power for the weapon is provided by a vial containing an unknown liquid at the bottom of the staff. When fired a pulse of energy is generated and sent down the barrel at relatively low speed compared to kinetic weapons. Then when the energy pulse reaches the top of the staff it is condensed into a ball before being accelerated out of the four emitters.

While the muzzle velocity and rate of fire are pitiful when compared to kinetic weaponry the intensely hot bolt of energy is almost universally lethal to anything organic. However, it is quickly determined that most of the length is just for show. With the firing controls, energy emitters and power unit can be removed and reassembled into a more usable form. A proposal to redesign it is given the approval and the designers quickly design a rifle based around the EM-2. Soon ten staffs are designated to be converted with the remaining staffs being designated for testing and spare parts.

The result is a slightly bulker EM-2 with the power unit being located within the stock, the fire controls being near the trigger and the emitter attached to the front of the barrel. While deemed 'slightly ugly' by the testing soldiers the rifle. The rifle cleared testing and was assigned for Imperial Stargate Team usage.

As only ten had been produced priority is given to recover more during exploration of the gate.

Research begins on replicating the light polymer material that the recovered assault rifles are made out of. It has proven to incredibly resistant to everything the researchers could throw at it. It is hoped that in the future weapons made out of this material would allow weapons to operate in a wide variety of environments far more reliably.

Project Amethyst the attempt to recreate the crystal computing system used in the pedestal device makes a breakthrough. After five years of study, they are finally able to encode a tiny amount of data onto a lab-grown crystal and read it back. It is hoped that in the future this will allow for ultra-advanced computer systems. Far fast than anything currently in use.

The end of the marks a change in the number of exports being made by the United Kingdom. The successful performance of the Hawker Hunter since its combat debut in the Korean War led to several countries purchasing the fighter for their air-forces. With the total order being close to one and a half thousand aircraft in the first production run.

These orders allow the UK government to increase the rate at which it is paying its war debt. With early estimates saying that if this trend continued then all war debt should be paid off by 1960. This, in turn, leads the US to rush the introduction of its subsonic jet fighter into active combat. However, as a result of this, the fighters suffer numerous issues and it wouldn't be until mid-1951 when these would be fixed. This combined with the superior performance of the Hawker Hunter turns away many countries from purchasing it. With the primary users being the United States Airforce, Japan Air Self Defence Force and the Spanish Air Force.


	3. Chapter 03 – One Small Step for Man

**Achilles Heel**

**Disclaimer:** This is an AU of both the movie Stargate Continuum.

I don't own Stargate as it belongs to MGM. I only own this story and any original content.

**Chapter 03 – One Small Step for Man**

**January 1950 **

Royal Enfield completes the redesign of the EM-2 and construction of the first batch begins. It is expected that evaluation and testing will mean that they will be combat-ready by April. This is good as it coincided with the expected completion of the training for ISO operatives. In the meantime, the teams would train with the few rifles already produced.

In March a representative of the admiralty arrives in the United States. He makes contact with the elderly Professor Paul Langford. After the professor signs the Non-disclosure Agreement he is astonished to find that the _Achilles _had been found. As he had given up all hope of convincing the American government to continue the search. Soon after he agrees and him his daughter Catherine and her fiancée Ernest Littlefield are on a ship bound for Bristol.

A week later the ship arrives in Britain and soon the group are transported to the base at Scapa Flow. Meanwhile, it is decided that should this expedition prove successful then a new facility would be constructed. The reason it is selected is simple. As a derelict facility before it had been accommodated the airship hangar isn't defensible at all. Any attacking forces would have a straight shot to the exit. They then would be directly inside one of the worlds most heavily defended naval bases. There they would be able to do an untold amount of damage.

The use of an above-ground facility was ruled out as indefensible and so an underground facility would be constructed. This facility would be designed to repel attacks from the stargate with no direct way from the stargate to the control room. A number of locations are selected before the list is narrowed down to a few. The final decision would be made after the mission.

All of these locations are located on islands or peninsulas. The two front runners being the Isle of Barra and the Isle of Mull. Though the Isle of Mull preferred as it is remote but relatively close to the city of Glasgow. What's more the island provided plenty of space for future expansion.

In April the redesigned EM-2's are finally delivered to Scapa Flow. Upon inspection, the members of the SBS who formed the units of the ISO fell completely in love with it. While slightly heavier than the ones they had been training with. The smaller size of the round allows for thirty rounds in a standard clip and are also very quick to reload. Thanks to the new quick-release switch a feature derived from the advanced rifles.

In mid-April everything was ready and after a final weekend with their families before finally everyone is assembled.

**Converted Airship Hangar**

**Scapa Flow Naval Base**

**Scotland, United Kingdom**

**April 17th 1951**

For Colonel McKay, the last few months had been a welcome surprise. The team he had been assigned were all professionals having served in the Special Boat Service. Indeed even the equipment they had access to was the best on the planet. The new energy weapons while ugly provided a nice increase in firepower. Though like the other members of the ISO he had become familiar with the new redesigned EM-2 assault rifles. In fact, he preferred them to the EM-2R's as they had been built around the original model.

Only ten men would be equipped with the energy weapons as that was all they could spare. The other eight being equipped with the new model two's while the final two men carried Bren Guns. Hell, they were bringing enough explosives to level a building and he had heard one of the men joking about the only thing they forgot was the Panzerfaust. The attendants had apparently taken that as a request as a few hours later they had turned up with two of them and a supply of ammo. When asked why they said that they had them in storage and there was no other use for them.

He still had to chuckle at the expression the Lieutenant made.

Indeed just about the only thing that he didn't like was the inclusion of the only civilian on the team Doctor Littlefield. The only saving grace was that he had served during the war so he at least had combat training. Even if it was as a part of the air force. Still, he had been brought up to speed as he had insisted that Littlefield underwent a toned-down version of the same training they had done.

At least he wasn't completely incompetent and wouldn't fall apart under fire.

"Alright, everybody gather around," he said his voice echoing thought the hangar. The conversations that had been going on around him stopped and soon everyone was gathered in front of him. "We are about to attempt to activate the gate. If it works then you men will be the first human beings to set foot on another world. Now I won't lie to you. We have no way of knowing whether or not the world on the other side is even habitable. For all, we know we could just step space. This mission will be unlike anything you have faced before. Now you all have families so in light of this if anybody wants to back out now then it will not be a mark on your character. I have been assured by command that you will be able to return to your previous jobs completely unaffected. So anybody want to back out" he asked.

Seeing nobody back down he smiled "Alright then here are our orders. Once on the other side we will explore this world and attempt to make contact with whoever is on the other side. Now I don't have to tell you what we found on board the _Achilles _so remain vigilant and we will get out of this alive. Do you get me"?

"WE GET YOU SIR!" came the reply echoing throughout the hangar.

Raising his right eyebrow he said, "What was that I didn't quite hear you".

"WE GET YOU SIR!" came the reply again echoing throughout the hangar.

As the echo died down he smiled and said: "Alright then let's do this". Turning to the tech manning the pedestal. "Insert the control crystal and input the address" he finished. The man nodded and soon the yellow crystal was inserted in the correct slot and the lid put back in place. As soon as it did the symbols lit up "We have an active connection to the gate" the tech reported before beginning to press each symbol in turn.

As he did so the inner ring of the stargate would rotate before locking onto the symbol selected lighting up as it descends and locked in place. The tension in the hangar reached fever pitch as the seventh symbol finally lit up and locked in place.

But nothing happened and after a minute of waiting the light on the chevrons died out before the inner ring rotated back to what looked like its default position.

Turning around he asked the professor who was standing behind the tech "What happened?".

The professor shook his head before saying "I don't know. We never even got this far as we didn't have the pedestal" before sighing.

To everyone's surprise, it was Catherine who spoke next. "I noticed that when you pressed the seventh symbol that the red dome in the middle started to glow. Maybe that has something to do with it". As she said this her father and the tech seemed to look at each other before the professor looked at him, shrugged his shoulders and said: "Well its worth a shot".

The Colonel looked at him before turning to the tech and said "Do it" and turning back to the gate. The tech nodded and soon repeated what he had done before. Soon all seven symbols were lit and locked in place and the tech pressed the red dome in the centre of the pedestal.

FWOOSH!

A puddle of what looked like water seemed to surge out of the space in the middle of the gate. Before falling back and settling into a rippling field that covered the previously empty space. The shimmering light of which illuminated the hanger.

_Beautiful _that was the only thought that ran through the Colonel's head and everyone else's at the sight of the active gate. Simultaneous with the activation of gate two squads of marines equipped with the new EM-2's took up guarding positions. While four Bren Guns, two on the tripod mounts on the floor and two on the catwalk above trained their sights on the event horizon.

_Let's do this _he thought as he walked up to the event horizon. As he did a half-track that carried most of the expedition's supplies in its trailer as well as twin mounted forty-millimetre anti-aircraft cannons in the back started its engine. The expedition was carrying plenty of supplies. As they wouldn't know what kind of environment they were in until they arrived the planners had simply packed gear for every type of environment they could think of. As well as enough food and water to last forty days and plenty of ammunition.

Walking towards the event horizon he stopped just before reaching it, turned his head around and gave a slight smile out of the corner of his mouth and said: "Wait thirty seconds and follow me". Before he turned around and stepped through the gate.

**Unknown**

**Unknown**

**Unknown Planet**

**April 17th 1951**

_That was trippy _Jonathan thought as he stepped out of the gate and into a dark room only illuminated by the light from the gate. The actual trip was something he had been only vaguely aware of. Being inside a twisting column of energy while passing through a massive field of stars would be something he would never forget.

Scanning the room he saw that it was dark the only light being the flickering light from the gate itself. Raising his weapon he did a quick visual sweep of the room and upon confirming that a pedestal was present he pressed the transmit button on his radio. "This is Colonel McKay door is open I repeat door is open," he said giving to agreed-upon code phase that it was safe.

Moving out of the way of the event horizon he now made a more detailed analysis of his surroundings. Although it was dark the room remained him of what he had seen when he was in Egypt. Massive sandstone columns toward above his head and there where multiple passageways leading off the side of the room. Hearing a ripple behind him he turned around to see the rest of his team coming out of the gate.

He turned around smiled and said "See you made it through. How was it?".

The men seemed to look at each other before Major Smith said "Trippy Sir".

The Colonel chuckled at that before the team formed up and proceeded to sweep the room. Behind them, the other members of the expedition came through followed by the half-track with the trailer following on behind it. Checking around he saw everybody had come through so he picked up his radio and said "This is Colonel McKay to base. All personnel have arrived safely. Repeat all personnel have arrived safely".

Though there was interference he could still make-out the reply "Understood we will keep the gate open. Let us know if you need anything. We will check back in one hour".

"Understood Colonel McKay out" he replied before the radio shut off.

Seeing that the men had finished searching the hallway he said: "Everyone gather around".

"Alright, now I don't need to tell you what kind of position we are in. So I want you to form into your teams and sweep this side passages. Remain in contact at all times we don't know where we are so exercise caution and don't assume anything. Are we clear"?

"Yes, Sir" came the reply.

"Good. My team will head out the front IST's two, three and four will explore the sides passages. IST five will remain with the half-track and secure this position while setting up a base camp everybody clear" seeing the men nod their heads he said "Good move out". As he finished the units split up and went about their objectives while the half-track trained its guns on the front entrance. "Doctor Littlefield stay with IST five see if you can find earths address in here".

With orders given everybody set about their tasks while IST one headed for the entrance. Even in partial light, he could see that the walls were covered in Egyptian hieroglyphics which fit what they had found with the symbol for Baal on the foreheads on the aliens. Approaching the opening he laid back against the wall along with Lieutenant Snyder behind him while Major Smith and Lieutenant Armstrong did the same on the left.

Nodding to Major Smith he raised his rifle and stepped into the entrance scanning his surroundings. Seeing that it was clear he made a sign with his hand and the major entered room again rifle raised followed by the two Lieutenants who took up cover positions. Ready to spring into action at the confirmation of any threat. Continuing this they solely cleared the tight corridors and as they got further away from the light from the gate dimmer. Turning on the torches attached to their rifles and finally, they arrived at the exit the room illuminated by the focused light of their torches and the pale moonlight.

Two large Egyptian statues paid silent guard as the team passed them emerging into a cold desert. Looking up the colonel could see two moons in the starry night sky. The sound of Lieutenant Snyder muttering in awe at the sight "We are defiantly not on earth any more" broke the silence.

He couldn't help but agree with him.

**Base Camp**

**Pyramid**

**Unknown Planet**

**April 18th 1951**

After the pyramid had been secured they had set up base camp in a room just to the left of the gate room. The entrance to the room was built in an L shape and as such made an excellent defensive position. The fact that it had another door that lead to an armoury filled to the brim with alien weaponry was a nice bonus.

As the colonel walked towards the pyramids armoury he could help but think about the events of the previous day. Before the first hour was even up the stargate had unexpectedly shut down plunging the room into darkness. The lack of light had been quickly solved by the spotlight on the half-track. After confirming that nothing had happened on their end they waited for their colleagues on earth to dial back. Which they had done ten minutes later.

After they did they quickly confirmed that nothing had happened on earth either. After it had happened twice more they eventually figured out that the stargate could only remain open for thirty-eight minutes. It was the exploration of the pyramid itself that lead to a discovery. When exploring one of the side tunnels IST two had discovered a massive stockpile of staff weapons and other equipment.

After their discovery, he had left IST two to explore the area further and see what they could find. They hadn't disappointed as soon the team had found four more armouries that had similar amounts of equipment inside them. Now six hours after their discovery he was going to check up on their progress.

Rounding the corner he entered the armoury. Surrounding him line upon line of staff weapons sitting in their racks. To the left, a number of wooden crates were stacked on top of each other reaching towards the ceiling. In the middle of the room, smaller racks held a number of S-shaped side-arms. Noticing him enter the commander of IST two said "Officer on deck" and as one the other members of the unit stood up and saluted him.

Saluting them he said, "At ease return to your duties" before walking over to the commander of IST two Lieutenant Colonel Robert Loxley. Who respectfully said "Sir" as he got closer.

Giving him a slight smile he said: "So what's the damage".

Smirking Robert replied "We two hundred staff weapons in this room with a similar number in the other four rooms for a total of one thousand one hundred. In addition, the contents of those crates in the wall match the description of the explosive you encountered on the _Achilles_. Naturally, we haven't messed with them given what happened".

The colonel nodded his head confirming that they had made the correct decision. If they had set them off then given the number of crates stacked in this room. Then any explosion could have set off a chain reaction that could have levelled the entire pyramid and killed them all. _At least he is smart, unlike Jenkins, _he thought scowling at the memory of the idiot. He was currently serving an eight-month prison sentence and had been cashiered out of the military receiving a discernable discharge.

"What are those," he asked indicating the S-shaped items on the smaller racks in the middle.

Noticing where he was looking Robert replied "Ah, well we don't really know. We do now that pressing the button on top it unfolds in something reassembling a serpent. We think that the second button is the trigger for firing it. However, we didn't want to test it so we have left them for now. If you will follow me there is something I want to show you" he finished indicating another door.

Nodding his head Robert walked through the opening. Descending the stairs they turned left passing a collapsed tunnel. Jonathan could tell that they were deep inside the pyramid now as there where no openings and the only light was provided by torches. Leading him down the corridor Robert passed a series of rooms on each side some of which were empty but comparable in size to the first room and somewhere full of weapons.

"I take it those rooms are where the other weapons are stored," he asked Robert as they passed by.

Robert didn't even turn around as they continued walking. "That's correct sir. I can only assume that there are more weapons stored in the rooms behind that collapsed tunnel. However, without heavy excavation gear, I can't guaranty that the ceiling wouldn't collapse so I am not even going to attempt to remove the rubble" he finished there.

The colonel found himself saying "Well done" that had been the correct decision. After all, he didn't want to potentially lose everything they had found so far. And losing men to such an idiotic move was something he didn't want on not only his conscience but his record.

Finally, they stopped at a set of rather large wooden doors at which Robert stopped and turned around. Looking at him with a stern expression he said: "Now bare in mind that we haven't gone any further as we don't know if there are any kind of traps". Nodding to him confirming that he understood and Robert turned around and pushed the doors open. Which they did with a loud bang and as his brain realised what was in the room his eyes went wide in shock.

Gold.

What must have been tons and tons of gold was piled inside this massive chamber. From what he could see this was the largest concentration of gold ever gathered. Honestly, the scene was similar to what was described about that dwarven kingdom in the hobbit. The only thing it lacked was the dragon Smaug and the look would have been completed.

Managing to compose himself he turned around to see Robert visibly shaking obviously trying not to laugh at what must have been his comical expression. Deciding to mess with him he mustered the most stern no-nonsense expression he could and in a dull monotone voice said: "Do you find something amusing?".

The expression Robert made nearly made him lose it right there. The moment Jonathan had said what he did a number of things happened. The first being his eyes going wide as Robert comprehended what he had said and tried to compose himself. Second, he could see the straining of his mouth as he tried not to laugh. Third, the small amount of shaking was amplified when he tried to stand to attention. Seeing this Jonathan couldn't help but think.

Now, this is comedy.

Finally, he couldn't take it any more and started full-on belly laughing. Robert took a few moments to realise that he had been messing with him before visibly relaxed and started laughing. They stopped laughing some five minutes later.

"Sorry couldn't help but mess with you," he said to Robert.

Robert who at this point had managed to compose himself waved it off "Its fine sir I left myself wide open for it" before holding out his hand to shake. Which Jonathan did and soon they returned to the armoury and the rest of IST two. Who by this point where all studying a section of the wall.

Seeing this he to Robert who shrugged and together they walked over and Jonathan said: "What's going on here".

Turning around it was the second in command of IST two Major Patrick Cormac who saluted and said "Sir while examining this rack Lieutenant Johnson here noted a thin line going up the wall. After closer examination, it appears to be a hidden door though we don't know how to open it". His heavy Scottish accent clear as day.

Taking a closer look he could see a faint line running up the wall and the red crystal in the centre "Good work" before pressing the transmit button on his radio. "Doctor Littlefield could you please report to the armoury".

After a moment the reply came over the radio "Give me a few minutes". Five minutes later a somewhat dishevelled looking Ernest Littlefield entered the armoury. Seeing him looking around the room he clicked his fingers and said "Doctor". This seemed to have the intended effect as Ernest turned his attention towards him. "Can you tell us what this says?" he said pointing to the wall.

Ernest walked over to them and narrowed his eyes concentrating. After five minutes of silence, the colonel said: "So doctor would have you found".

Not even looking at him the doctor replied "Well, this section talks about how the Ra draws his power from the sun. Now it doesn't mention anything about a hidden door. But if you take this literally then id guess you have just have to shine a light at it". As he finished the men looked at each other before the colonel took his flashlight and turned it on directing the beam onto the crystal.

But nothing happened.

Then Lieutenant Johnson offered a suggestion "Maybe you have to focus it?". Figuring it was worth a shot Ernest pulled a magnifying glass from his side bag and held it up to the crystal. Shrugging to himself the colonel followed his example holding the light of the flashlight this time behind the magnifying glass which focused the light directly onto the crystal.

Again nothing happened.

Everybody looked at each other deflated as the colonel looked at the doctor now a bit irritated and said "Well doctor".

However, Ernest didn't seem to notice as he stared at the wall or more specifically the crystal before he muttered: "It's red".

Looking at him the colonel said "What".

"The description of the sun it's red. I think we have the right idea but the wrong wavelength" he replied chewing the handle of his glasses. Then he turned to the colonel and said: "Do we have anything that will create a focused beam of red light".

At that, the men looked at each other thinking before the Major who was cupping his chin with his hand said: "We could use the brake-light from the half-track".

The colonel didn't even need to think before he said: "Do it". Patrick nodded and twenty minutes later they brought the disassembled brake-light back down. Quickly connecting it to a battery from a flash-light the brake-light turned on emitting a bright red light. And again Ernest held the magnifying glass in front of it focusing the red light onto the crystal. Until finally they heard the sound of sliding stone and the wall started to move into a gap in the wall.

With the door finally out of the way, they moved any remaining obstructions of to the side and with his rifle raised the colonel went inside. The room itself was small and filled with dusty golden artefacts but had none of the ornate décor of the larger treasure chamber. If anything it was quite plain in comparison.

Seeing that nobody was inside he lowered his rifle and said "Clear" before Ernest entered the room. His immediate response being "Wow" his eyes wide and the awe clear in his voice. At which both Jonathan and Robert looked at each other and chuckled. If that was how he reacted to the something like this then how would he react to the larger treasure chamber.

Still, it only served to remind them how important it was to establish the connection back to earth.

**Authors Note: **Hello and welcome to chapter 03 of Achilles Heel. This chapter should give some indication of how things are changing. Comments and Criticism are welcome and I hope you all enjoy the chapter.


	4. Chapter 04 - Revaluations

**Achilles Heel**

**Disclaimer:** This is an AU centred on the movie Stargate Continuum.

I don't own Stargate as it belongs to MGM. I only own this story and any original content.

**Chapter 04 – Revaluations**

**Base Camp**

**Pyramid**

**Unknown Planet**

**April 20th 1951**

Ernest's reaction to seeing the treasure chamber was exactly like the Jonathan thought it would be. Needless to say the laughter had gone on for a good few minutes before they had dragged a reluctant Ernest back to the armoury. Upon explaining why the treasure room was of limited he agreed with them and set about cataloguing the various artefacts in the smaller room.

They had been on the planet for a day now and they could already tell that the day night cycle was somewhat different. While they couldn't figure out the time difference precisely they did estimate that the days on this planet lasted for at least twenty eight hours total. With fourteen hours of night and day respectively. This certainly started to put people out of whack after the first couple of days.

However things weren't going so well. They had failed to find anything in the immediate vicinity that would indicate earths address. Though the area around the pyramid itself was relatively flat. After walking up a nearby sand dune they had discovered that the desert went on for as far as they could see. However a lookout from IST three had spotted a small herd of what looked like domesticated animals. Which was the first real sign of life on this planet.

Yet the sheer distance ruled out any kind of expedition of foot and with the half-track unable to get out due to the narrow entrance. Colonel McKay had requested that motorcycles to be sent through. They had come a day later with command delivering six Norton 16H motorbikes coloured in desert camouflage that had been in storage. To help with endurance these bikes had been fitted with additional twenty five galleon jerry cans.

With everything ready IST one would be setting out as soon as the sun rose. The doctor would be coming along with them as he spoke Egyptian and understood ancient Egyptian. Which if they where right was these peoples language, however the good doctor was quick to inform that due to the amount of time that had passed there could be significant differences.

For Colonel McKay all he could do now was sit silent and wait for his watch to end. With the expedition due to set off in the mourning when the sun rose everybody was getting some sleep. _Its rather relaxing _he thought staring at the silent desert the sheer number of stars in the night sky was magnificent. Combined with the twin moons it certainly served to remove any doubt as to where they where.

Hearing the sound of approaching footsteps he turned his head to find Robert walking towards him. Finally reaching him Robert said "I'm here to relive you sir". Nodding his head he got up and looked out across the dunes. "Its a nice night isn't it" he said.

"Indeed it is sir" Robert replied before walking up and putting his hand on Jonathan's shoulder "Now get some sleep".

"Alright" he replied before picking up his rifle and heading back to camp. Passing by the members of IST five who where guarding the gate room he rounded the corner and entered the base camp. Seeing almost everybody asleep he walked towards his fold-out bed. However before reached it he noticed that Ernest was reading a golden covered book that he recognised as being from the hidden store room.

"What are you reading" he asked.

Ernest looked up and said "Ah, Colonel. We found this book during searching the hidden store room. Its quite fascinating really. The book covers the history of the god Ra. In particular his rise to power thanks to his discovery of the Tau'ri. But what's interesting is this" he finished with a smile on his face.

Turning the book around he pointed to a specific section on the page. There on the page was a stargate address different from the one that had brought them to this place. But what was clear was what they had already identified was earth's point of origin. The colonel smiled and said "Good work".

Ernest's smile faded then as he said "Still knowing earths address doesn't do us any good if we don't know this planets point of origin" he then paused.

The Colonel looked at him confused "Doctor what are you thinking?".

The doctor looked at him and said "How long do you think it will take to brute force it. I mean thanks to the book we know the first six symbols. We already know that there are thirty nine symbols on the gate in total. I reckon that it wouldn't take more than an hour or two at most for us to find the correct symbol. The only issue would be checking if we have the right planet" he finished.

Jonathan considered the idea for a moment before saying "We could use our radios to confirm for that. After all they are the only thing that we know goes both ways through the gate. The only issue I can think of is that we may expose our self-selves. Still even with the fact that we know there must be some kind of civilisation here. There is no guaranty that we can even understand them let alone that they have the address written down. Or indeed if they even let us have access to it. Very well doctor we will try it in the morning before we set out. Now get some sleep that's an order". He said before walking over to his bed laying down and closing his eyes.

They had a long day tomorrow.

**Base Camp**

**Pyramid**

**Desert Planet**

**April 21st 1951**

As Ernest woke up six hours later the first thing his still waking mind noticed was the smell of burning. Immediately his eyes snapped open and his body shoot up as his head darted around searching for the source of the smell. "Ah, hey guys sleeping beauty is awake" the sound of the voice finally remained him of where he was. Looking over he saw the Colonel McKay and the other members of IST one around the camp fire cooking what appeared to be an English breakfast. "There's some for you to if you can stomach it. My cooking isn't that great" the colonel finished.

Getting up he quickly changed in another room before joining them. As the colonel handed him a plate he said "Thank you" before digging in. Deciding to make some polite conversation he said "So Colonel if you don't mind me asking how you joined the navy".

The Colonel looked at him in surprise for a moment before slowly responding "I don't mind as long as you do the same". Seeing Ernest nod his head as he chewed on a piece of crispy bacon the Colonel continued "I had just graduated university with an engineering degree when the war broke out. Naturally I went down to the nearest recruiting office and signed up. Just so happened that it belonged to the navy." he finished.

Curious Ernest said "So you joined the navy by happy accident" to which the colonel just shrugged his shoulders. "So how about you?" the colonel asked him.

"Well I cant say it was random what service I ended up in. I always had an interest in flying after getting my degree in Ancient Cultures I ended up following my hobby and learned to fly. When the war broke out in 41 I joined the army air corp and flew escort missions for bomber forces over Germany. Kind of miss flying my P-51 in all honesty". He said a slight smile on his lips as he remembered his wartime service. "So colonel do you have any family".

The slight smile that had been on the colonels face quickly vanished. "The only family I have left is a brother. However we don't speak any more after he disagreed with me joining the navy. We ended up having a massive argument and the last I heard he was living in Canada".

"Sorry for asking" he replied.

"Its alright. So what about you" the colonel asked.

Ernest scratched the back of his head with slightly sheepish expression. "Not much to tell I afraid as I was an only child and my parents died last year. Although I met my fiancée Catherine after the war and god bless her soul as she helped me readjust to civilian life". After that the conversation continued for half an hour as they finished breakfast before the group headed to the chamber.

Walking over to the rest of the men they stood to attention as the Colonel approached before he turned to the Ernest and said "So doctor, tell the men what you told me last night".

Ernest looked at him in surprise before seeing him nod giving him permission to head the briefing. "Right, um as you know we discovered a hidden chamber in the armoury last night. Among the artefacts we discovered was this book" he paused holding up the book in question.

A couple of the men whistled before one of the Lieutenants said "Who makes books out of gold".

"I imagine the gaudy type" Ernest quickly replied cutting off any further deviation. "This books title is The Book of Ra. While I haven't gone through all of it. The book itself is a kind of history detailing Ra's rise to power. But that isn't the interesting part the book specifically mentions earth. The point is gentlemen that it lists earth gate address" he said seeing the audience getting a bit irritated.

The men seemed to brighten up at that and one of them asked "So you can get us home".

"Well unfortunately we don't know this planets point of origin. However the are only thirty nine symbols on the pedestal and the gate. Given that we now know the address we can find it via a process of elimination" Ernest finished.

"We really need to come up with a new name for it" one of the Lieutenants commented.

The colonel looked at him and said "What do you mean Lieutenant Hawkins".

The Lieutenant one Robert Hawkins turned his head towards him and replied. "Well sir, if we keep referring to it as the pedestal. While that maybe fine for official documentation we need something that we can easily refer to in the field. Preferably an acronym. That way we can convey anything we want to say quicker. Which could mean life or death in a combat scenario".

Jonathan and Ernest looked at each other before the colonel turned to the men and ssaid "Well any suggestions then".

"Yes sir. The what you just described kind of reminds me of how as a kid I used to dial random numbers on the telephone in hopes for a response. It just struck me that we are effectively doing the same thing. Dialling and hoping for a response so I would call it a Dial-Home-Device or DHD".

Again Jonathan and Ernest looked at each other before saying "Well it fits. DHD it is. So doctor lets begin shall we". Ernest nodded and soon began the process of trial and error. For the next half an hour he preceded to try the first sixteen combinations and predictably it didn't work however on the seventh try.

FWOOSH!

The characteristic burst of energy came out of the event horizon before quickly retreating and stabilising. Picking up his radio the colonel said "This is Colonel McKay to command do you read me. I repeat this is Colonel McKay to command do you read me". The silence continued for a few moments before a voice crackly voice came through.

"This is command to Colonel McKay good to hear from you. Judging from the fact that you are making contact without us dialling means that you have found the correct address".

"That's correct sir. Permission to come through for a debrief. However could you arrange for more men to be brought through we are going to need them" the colonel replied.

"Understood colonel. You are cleared for transit".

"See you in a moment. Colonel McKay out" with that the transmission turned the radio off before turning to the men and saying "Alright the expedition is cancelled for the time being. Until I return Lieutenant Colonel Robert Loxley is in command. "Everybody clear on that" he said.

"Yes Sir!"

Hearing the response the colonel smiled before turning to Ernest and saying "Note the address down and hand it to the Lieutenant Colonel. After that follow me back home. I feel we have a long debrief ahead of us" he finished. Ernest smiled before quickly noting down the address and handed it to Colonel Loxley. Before following the colonel through the gate.

**Naval Headquarters**

**Scapa Flow, Scotland**

**United Kingdom**

**April 22st 1951**

An day after they had arrived on earth and Colonel McKay was sitting in a conference room that had been set aside for the briefing and waiting for arrival of Admiral Vian. Along side him sat Doctor Ernest Littlefield, Catherine and Paul Langford, and the groups technical specialist Doctor Samuel Johnson. Looking over he saw that the good doctor had brought the Book of Ra with him. _That will certainly make this briefing go easier _he thought.

Hearing the door open and seeing Admiral Vian walk in everybody stood up with the navy personnel saluting. As he reached his position at the had of the oak table he saluted before saying "Please sit". The admiral took a breath before he continued "First of all I would like to say good work and welcome back to earth. Sorry for taking so long to arrange this meeting however there where matters that required my immediate attention. There are a number of things that I need to inform you of. The first is that with the success of your mission Imperial Stargate Operations is now officially recognised as part of the Royal Navy with a parliamentary seal of approval. The second is that everything is now classified top secret as such if any of you speak about this then you will be charged with treason is that clear".

Seeing the room nod he continued "The third thing I need to tell you is for official reasons however the label Imperial Stargate Operations will never be used on any official documentation and will be instead refereed to as Royal Naval Research and Development Institution. Now Doctor Littlefield I understand you discovered who attacked the _Achilles_" he finished. As he did so Colonel McKay looked at doctor Littlefield with surprise that was something he hadn't known.

"Yes sir" Ernest replied. "According to the Book of Ra the symbol of the forehead of the attackers indicates that they most likely belong to Ba'al. Based on the photographs I have seen. A minor system lord at least according to the book. However as we have no idea when the book was written I would suggest that we only use it was a general frame of reference" he answered.

Admiral Vian nodded before saying "Agreed. Now can you tell us what you found".

Nodding his head Ernest started speaking "Of course. Now judging by the kind of language used in the Book of Ra I guess it was some kind of religious book. Most likely used by priests and such. The book itself mostly speaks of the great god Ra and his rise to power. The book tells of how Ra was one of a dying race and how he found the Tau'ri or people of the first world. How he possessed the body of a young egyptian boy and was able to create a race of soldiers called 'Jaffa'. Thanks to this he used the first worlds massive amounts of manpower to conquer the others of his race. In recognition of this he was acknowledged as the 'Supreme System Lord' or the ruler of his race. He ruled on earth for thousands of years using the Tau'ri to populate the worlds of his empire." he paused to allow himself to catch his breath before continuing.

"Now at this point all record of earth vanishes in fact so I assume that a rebellion occurred that forced him off the planet. In fact part of the book appears to have been ripped out as he probably didn't want anybody thinking they could do the same. It also seems that they adopted the names and customs of the ancient egyptians. Regardless the rest of the book identifies the rest of the other 'lesser' system lords. Namely Hathor, Setesh, Sokar, Heru'ur, Cronus, Apophis and Yu. Though the last one may indicate that they have adopted other cultures as well as it is Chinese in origin. With Ba'al Bastet, Kali, Morrigan Olokun and Svarog being among the minor system lords. Unfortunately that is all I have been able to translate so far" he finished before drinking a glass of water.

Admiral Vian gave him a kind smile and asked "That's alright doctor. Did the book happen to mention the name of Ra's species".

"The Goa'uld sir" Ernest replied.

"Thank you doctor. Now we have a general idea of who we are facing I believe that it is now time to move on. Colonel McKay can you please explain what you have found" the admiral asked.

"Certainly sir. In terms of weapons we have recovered 1,200 staff weapons, 1,200 serpent side arms and over 2,000 grenades. Overall that is enough equipment to supply one of our battalions or their equivalent. In terms of other artefacts we uncovered a massive treasure chamber the pictures of which are in the folder in front of you. Though we haven't even had a chance to explore as we didn't know if there were any traps. But judging from the sheer size of it I would estimate that it contains something on the lines of two hundred to three hundred billion pounds of gold. But I am not an expert by any means. Now bare in mind that there are multiple blocked passages and other hidden passages that we don't know about. So the pyramid could contain far more than what we currently know about. However I cant do any more with the resources I have" he finished.

"What kind of resources do you need" Admiral Vian replied.

The Colonel was surprised by such an immediate response but he decided to take advantage of it. "I would like to request a company of Commando Engineers to help with the excavation. As well as an additional two squads of SBS for support. If we have any Bofors 40mm Anti-Aircraft Cannons then I would like to use them for point defence around the pyramid" the colonel finished.

"Thank you colonel. I will make sure that you get everything you asked for. With the withdrawal of our troops from their occupation duties in Germany we have far more manpower to move around. However your first priority is shipping the gold back here. I don't need to tell you that the debts we accumulated from the war are hampering our recovery efforts. And that amount of gold will more than pay those back. Secondary priority is to recover those weapons" the admiral said.

"Understood sir" the colonel replied quietly pleased about how his request had gone.

At this point the admirals aide interjected "Sir, I would advise that we don't dumb that amount of gold on the market at once. Not only will it devalue the price of gold but people will be very suspicious as to where we are getting the gold from in the first place".

"Very well. I will take that suggestion to the cabinet. I see no reason why they would disagree with it". Admiral Vian replied and the aide seemed to relax retaking his place behind the admiral. "Now Professor Cormac based on your experience with the EM-2Rs how long would it take for you to convert those staff weapons".

"Well sir, while we don't really understand how the staff weapon works. The rebuilding of them into a more effective form proved to be remarkably easy to do. We of course would be rebuilding those weapons into the form of the new EM-2 MK Assault Rifle it will take a bit longer. However for the amount of equipment that has been recovered we would need more men".

"Do you need more scientists"

"Well sir, its not simply the case that we need more scientists. Though that would be nice. The conversion is something anybody who is reasonably confidant could do. However converting the amount of equipment needed for a battalion. Well we don't have enough manpower to do that and other tasks such as researching the new serpent side arms we found and those grenades at the same time" Professor Cormac finished.

"Very well. We will contact the directors at the Royal Arsenal in Woolwich. It may take a while but you will get everything you need. Now one final thing I have to inform you of. With the success of this mission construction has begun on a purpose built facility that will be designed from the start to house the stargate. For this the Isle of Mull has been selected and be appropriated. The 1,200 residents living there have been compensated. Construction of the main and secondary facilities is scheduled to take five years. With other facilities being completed sooner" the admiral said.

The Colonel noticed that Catherine looked confused before she turned to the admiral and said "I'm sorry but you said that there will be other facilities. I understand if you cant tell us but could you elaborate on what those facilities will be". Colonel McKay found himself rather impressed that the seemingly weak women had spoken up.

Admiral Vian considered the question for a moment before saying "Not at all given that you will be working there and you have signed the NDA's". He took a drink of his tea before he continued. "The actual facility itself will be built inside the Ben More Mountain and will serve as both ISO's base of operations. Now along side this will be an underground submarine base as the island provides perfect access to the Atlantic while having a natural harbour. The island will also serve as the location of the Royal Naval Research and Development Institute with the accompanying research facilities. Finally the government is not ignorant of the potential wealth of material resources that could be brought back. The discovery of gold on the first mission alone merely proves that fact. With the proximity to the industrial city of Glasgow will enable those resources to processed quickly without building additional infrastructure. Does that answer your question Mrs Langford" he finished with a smile.

"Yes it does Admiral".

"Good" the admiral replied before Professor Langford interjected.

"I realise that it maybe a bit pretentious for me to say but shouldn't we include other nations in this. After all surely the threat of Goa'uld would warrant it".

The look the Admiral gave him was stern but the Colonel could tell that whatever warmth was there before had vanished. Being replaced with cold professionalism. "By involving other countries I assume you mean the Americans. Who you originally went to behind the governments back Professor". The sheer coldness in this voice seemed to stun the professor as he didn't get a chance to provide a response before he continued.

"The government feels quite rightly that if the Americans got involved they would insist on being in a position of power. With their actions in supporting the demands of the Russians at Yalta. Their refusal to hand over atomic research as per our agreement and the fact that they still refuse to pay royalties on technology we shared with them during the war. They have proven themselves to be quite honorless. Never mind the French bastards who seem to view themselves as the sole reason we won the war at all. The only other major power is the Soviet Union which isn't an option. We only cooperated with them during the war because we had to. Never mind the fact that we are in a cold war with them at the moment. As well as the fact that we have rescued a large number of Cossacks, White Russians, Croats, Czechs and Poles. Well lets just say that relations between all of our former wartime allies are at an all time low. So no professor we will not let to greatest discovery in the history of mankind slip out of our grasp".

With that said he relaxed and said "Well I think that everything needed to be covered has been covered. As always I there is anything you need please be sure to direct everything to my office and remember everything that has been discussed in this meeting is classified top secret. Thank you and good luck".

**April **

With the successful return through the stargate the Isle of Mull is finally selected and construction begins. This is due to several factors but the presence of already existing mines finally settles the debate. Construction begins immediately with the previous in habited towns on the Isle serving as the housing for the workers. Even after the construction is completed they will continue to serve this function.

The cabinet meets and agrees to release that they have discovered the _Achilles _in an effort to rebuild relations with the United States of America. The ship will be altered before hand to show that the ship was illegally stopped and boarded by a German U-Boat. Who upon encountering resistance massacred the crew before firing a torpedo to destroy it. The ships last recorded entry will be altered to help with this.

Also during this meeting the plan for the British Space Agency is set into place with the long term goal of putting a satellite into orbit and eventually a man on the moon. A testing facility will be built of the Isle of Wight with all rockets being launched from the Woomera Space Centre located in Australia. This is part of the governments efforts to encourage closer relations between the various dominions.

The British Space Agency will also work closely with the Royal Naval Research and Development Institute. In order to develop technology that will hopefully be able to protect the British Empire from Orbital Attack and Bombardment. This program will ultimately result in the creation first true Anti-Satellite Weapons.

General Douglas MacArthur is relived of command of all forces in the Far East by President Truman.

The Treaty of Paris (1951) is signed creating the European Coal and Steel Community.

**May**

Colonel McKay returns to the desert planet with reinforcements and begins to setup the Bofors 40mm mounts in defensive positions around the pyramid. Meanwhile excavation begins on the collapsed and buried sections of the pyramid. Even with the extra personnel it is estimated that removal of all the debris from the collapsed passage way is scheduled to take the remainder of the year.

The first shipments of gold are brought back to the United Kingdom. An official evaluation is still pending but a second more accurate evaluation puts the total net worth at more than 400 – 600 Billion pounds. This is likely to increase as the gold is brought back with the final evaluation only being possible once the entirety of the hoard has been accounted for.

The US tests 'George' the worlds first Hydrogen Bomb. It only serves to fast track British efforts to create their own Nuclear Weapons.

**October **

On the 26th of October Winston Churchill wins an unprecedented third term in office. With his position secured he begins to plan how best to use the new source of gold to fund the United Kingdoms economic recovery. As a part of this he institutes the policy of 'British First' which advocates a by British goods first policy for all government institutions. The first benefactor of this policy is the new EM-2 MKII Assault Rifle. Production begins immediately.

The British Armed Forces immediately adopt this weapon as the standard rifle for the British Military along with the new 5.56m cartridge. This will later be designated the 5.56 MK1 Cartridge. The revised version will be designated as the MK1 with later models being the MK2, MK3 and MK4 and so on.

With the adoption of the EM-2 by the British Armed Forces. This weapon will also be built under license by Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Along with also being exported to the militaries of the various Commonwealth countries along with other British manufactured equipment and weapons. This combined with the earlier success of the Hawker Hunter serves as a powerful symbol of Great Britain's recovering economy.

This will serve to make the EM-2 Rifle the second most manufactured rifle in history only to the AK-47. The rifle will continue to remain in production well into the 21st century.

More importantly this combined with the orders for the Hawker Hunter and the English Electric Canberra. Which had both shown superior performance to their American counterparts. Marks the beginning of the end of the US dominance of the arms export market of which it had been at dominant since 1939.

This leads to additional funding being granted to various British programs and sets the trend for the future. Included in this is a requirement for a new transport aircraft for the armed forces. Only the Shorts Aircraft Company would initially show interest beginning the development of the 'Belfast'. This program would be due for delivery in 1955.

**December**

With the majority of the gold now brought back the priority switches to the recovered weaponry. The gold will be stored in a warehouse at Scapa Flow before being melted down into bars and transported to the Treasury Vaults. With the majority of the gold brought back the rate of payments for war debts being to increase. The US while noting the increase equates it to the increasing revenue gained from arms exports.

Thanks to the increased revenue Winston Churchill announces the creation of the National Health Service or NHS. Along with this a series of educational reforms are begun to revolutionise the education system. Particular focus is placed on Engineering, Scientific and Medical Fields with incentives being offered for picking those fields. This is seen as part of a broader program to hide advances brought about by any recovered alien technology.

With industrial restoration now complete the government begins the process of upgrading the United Kingdoms Industrial Base. This process will be seen as on going and will prove to be a vital part in keeping the United Kingdom Industry competitive with other nations.

The headquarters of the Royal Naval Research and Development Institute is completed and the transfer of scientists and projects begins. Located within Duart Castle the various underground areas prove to be useful for quick expansion and soon a production facility is completed. Construction of more model 2 EM-2R's begins until a total of one thousand are finished.


	5. Chapter 05 - Aliens on Earth

**Achilles Heel**

**Disclaimer:** This is an AU centred on the movie Stargate Continuum.

I don't own Stargate as it belongs to MGM. I only own this story and any original content.

**Chapter 05 – Aliens on Earth**

**January 1952**

The completion of the deception operation onboard the freight _Achilles _is completed and after everything is confirmed to be accurate the news of the recovery and 'investigation. is released. The story 'U-Boat Destroys American Freighter Before Pearl Harbour Attack' make headlines throughout the United States. Investigators sent from the states quickly confirm the findings and the bodies of the crew are returned for burial. This would provide closure for the Mitchell family in particular their eldest son. Whose father had been to captain of the _Achille__s _when the vessel disappeared.

All crew are buried with full military honours.

During final water tank pressurization testing of the de Havilland DH 106 Comet the body of the aircraft fails catastrophically. The cause of which is eventually identified as metal fatigue caused by improper riveting with dangerous concentrations occurring near the square windows. As a result the aircraft was extensively redesigned with Oval windows, structural reinforcements and other changes. The delay doesn't effect sales all that much and initial orders are for three hundred aircraft.

In addition the Royal Air Force shows interest in developing a military version of the jetliner. This would become the Hawker Siddeley Nimrod which would be adapted into a number of versions covering a variety of roles. Including Airborne Early Warning, Airborne Command and Control Relay, Airborne Refuelling Tanker and Signals Intelligence Craft. Like with other British military products these would be widely exported.

MI5 who had been asked to find if there had been any traces of a Goa'uld on earth stumble across something surprising.

**Atomic Energy Authority (AEA)**

With the coming test with the United Kingdoms first Nuclear Weapon the government establishes the Atomic Energy Authority. The goal of this organisation is to study nuclear power and further ensure Britain's energy independence. The first task is to build Britain's first civilian nuclear power plant.

This AEA will study the various methods of generating nuclear power. These include methods of safely naturalising a Nuclear Reaction to prevent a possible meltdown. As part of this program the AEA will study two different types of possible sources of fuel for these reactors Uranium 235 and Thorium. In order to better understand the different fuel sources the construction of two test reactors are ordered.

This will begin the United Kingdoms love affair with Nuclear Power with a goal for nuclear energy to eventually supply eighty to ninety percent of the countries electrical power. The remaining is set to be taken care by Coal Power Planets though this will eventually be changed to Oil powered plants after the Great Smog of London in December 1952.

**Base Camp**

**Pyramid**

**Desert Planet**

**January 15th 1952**

If there was one thing that surprised Colonel McKay during the past few months was the fact that. Despite the known presence of domesticated animals not one person had come near the pyramid. If the pyramid was a religious structure like Doctor Littlefield had claimed and indeed was supported by the evidence. Then surely somebody would have come here during the time here. But nobody had. Upon further examination it appeared that the last time the pyramid had been used in that function had been at least twenty years ago.

They had sent a small scouting unit ahead and discovered a rather large Egyptian town. Days of reconnaissance had revealed that the population was around twenty thousand. What these people where doing here confused them until the recon party had followed a group heading out of the town and discovered a vast open cast mine. Though it was what they where mining that had gotten the most interest a dark brown metallic substance. Several samples of this material had been retrieved and upon testing had revealed some that it had some remarkable properties.

For one thing the metal was incredibly dense and after analysis was confirmed to be the same metal that the stargate was made out of. Further experiments had revealed that the metal greatly amplified the energy of any reaction that it was added to. This naturally attracted significant interest with the upcoming Operation Hurricane. The test of the first British Nuclear Weapon. With the test scheduled for October 1952 and construction of the Bomb well underway. It was decided to construct a second bomb of the same size in order to get an idea of how much the unknown material amplified the ten megaton nuclear reaction. This second test was to take place four days after the first.

Shaking his head he decided to go for a walk. Walking around it continued to amaze him how much the pyramid had changed in the few months he had been here. Where there had been empty rooms now sat barracks for the men and a fully functional galley. Sure it had been weird adapting to the twenty eight hour day but everybody had done so with varying degrees of success. Though as he had to travel once every month back through the gate to report he had been getting what he termed 'Gatelag'.

Deciding to get some breakfast he headed towards the galley. Passing by several marines who saluted him as he went by he entered the galley. The galley itself remained him of that which would be found on a warship. _Keep forgetting where they got the equipment _he thought as he remembered that all this equipment came from scrapped vessels. Walking up to the counter the cook said "Hello sir what can I get you today".

The Colonel smiled before saying "Can you get me a cup of tea and a Full English breakfast please".

"Certainly sir please sit down and it will be brought to you" the cook replied. If there was one thing he liked about this posting it was the lunch service. In an effort to make staying on another planet full time more comfortable the navy had installed several things that ordinarily wouldn't be found in any other facility. This included the galley which though being built in military style operated like a civilian restaurant. That included the full range of food choices which the Colonel was taking full advantage of. Though there where a number of differences which became apparent as he sat at the metal table. The table itself was thicker than normal as it was made of recycled armoured plate. This was to provide cover should the pyramid come under attack. In addition groves in the metal floor indicated where the flipped over table could be locked in place.

Soon the waiter walked over "Here is your meal sir" placing it neatly in front of him.

"Thank you" he replied and the waiter returned to the kitchen. Taking a drink of his steaming hot tea he tucked in to the delicious breakfast. Twenty minutes later he was finishing when Major David Hewlett head of the Royal Marines Combat Engineers team assigned to the pyramid came over saluting. "Sir".

Looking up as the waiter returned to take away the used dishes he said "At Ease. Why don't you sit down" indicating the seat on the opposite side of the table. As the major sat down he said "So how goes the final excavation".

"Very well sir. Estimates place completion of the removal of all rocks from the final passageway for two days time" the major replied.

Smiling he said "Excellent however I sense that that isn't the only reason you came over here".

"That is correct sir. We just received word from command. You and SG's 01, 02, 03 and 04 are ordered to return to earth for an operation" Major Hewlett replied.

Raising an eyebrow slightly confused he said "Very well I will be there as soon as possible". As part of the effort to increase efficiency a number of name changes had been adopted including the shortening of Imperial Stargate Teams to just SG teams and the adoption of the Dial-Home-Device or DHD as the official name for the pedestal. Finishing his teas he got up tucked his chair in and headed to the barracks.

A short walk later and he was entering the barracks. If one didn't know where they where one could mistake it for something they could find on earth. Four lines of bunk beds lined the room as he made his way over to the recreation area. Entering the room he saw the members of his team and SG-2 playing a card game while SG-3 was chatting in the corner. Noticing him enter one of the marines said "OFFICER ON DECK!".

Replying "At ease" before everybody good get up he said "Alright guys we have to do gather your gear we have a job to do". Finishing the men saluted before moving putting their jackets on and going to the equipment lockers.

Five minutes later everyone had there gear and was assembled in the gate room. Seeing that everything was ready the Colonel said "Lets go" before the gate activated and everybody had stepped through.

**Briefing Room, Naval Headquarters**

**Scapa Flow, Scotland**

**United Kingdom**

**January 15th 1952**

When they had been gone through the gate they had been told to hand in their equipment and that they would be issued new equipment in its stead. The teams where soon in the briefing room at naval headquarters waiting for whoever would conduct the briefing. So the Colonel was surprised to see Captain now Commodore Hood if going by the pins enter the room. "Ah, Colonel good to see you again" he said smiling and holding out his hand.

Standing up he shook his hand "Good to see you to sir. Congratulations on the promotion" he said.

After shaking his hand the Commodore took the seat at the head of the table "Please seat".

When everybody had sat down he continued "To those who don't know I am Commodore James Hood. I was recently appointed by Admiral Vian to the position of head of the Royal Naval Research and Development Institute. Which means I am now head of the Imperial Stargate Program. Now I imagine that your are wondering why you are here today".

Seeing the room nod he continued "When Doctor Littlefield uncovered the Book of Ra we gave both MI-5 and 6 the task of searching for any evidence of a Goa'uld being on earth. We didn't expect to find anything however researching for cults we came across this" he finished. Then he turned to the aide who dimmed the lights and turned on the projector on.

"Now as you might imagine everything we found indicated that most Goa'uld worship died out by at the very latest 500BC. This included nearly all of the Goa'uld listed in the Book however one stood out" he trailed of and the aide placed an image of a symbol.

"That's the symbol of Setesh" Doctor Littlefield muttered before realising he had spoken what he was thinking out-loud. It was quite comical watching his calm expression change into a sheepish one.

Commodore Hood simply directed a look before saying "You are indeed correct doctor. That is indeed the symbol for Setesh" pausing long enough for Ernest to start to sink into his chair he continued. "We bring it up because out of all the Goa'uld system lords this is one that simply wouldn't vanish. We tracked variations of the Cult of Setesh all the way through history with each cult usually ending in a violent manner like most cults with a massacre. Now MI-5 have been able to locate where the latest incarnation of this cult is residing" he paused allowing the aide to display a picture of a walled manor house.

"The following are images that a MI-5 team managed to take on a reconnaissance mission" and the aide started to display a series of images showing weapon emplacements. "As you can see these cultists are heavily armed however that by itself doesn't prove that a Goa'uld is present. But I think that these do" as the aide placed a zoomed in picture on the guards.

Which clearly showed serpent side arms on their belts.

"As you can see the presence of the serpent side arms are the final clincher. I and command agree the chance to acquire a Goa'uld. Without exposing ourselves to them is far to big to ignore. Gentlemen you mission is to capture Setesh alive and bring him back for interrogation. Even if his information is out of date his knowledge of how their technology works has been deemed crucial for our survival" the Commodore said before saying "Do you have any questions".

It was Colonel McKay who spoke up "Do we have any idea of the opposition we will have to face".

"We asked the Royal Navy to do conduct an aerial reconnaissance mission using a Canberra Recon Craft. These are the photos it took" he finished before the agent displayed a black and white photo of the manor house with a series of circles marked on it. "This circles mark the positions of what have been identified as .50cal anti aircraft cannons. As you can see there are four cannons I an even spread around the house. In addition further recon conducted by MI-5 has revealed that a significant surplus world war two era weapons. Honestly there are far to many for me to go through all of them now but we do know that he possesses a number of Bren and MG34 Machine Guns. The full list of what we identified will be given to you. Full blueprints of the mansion are available for you in the folders. The planning of the raid itself is up to you Colonel".

After a few moments he heard a whistle coming from the commander of SG-3. Before he said "Do these people know the meaning of the word overkill". Looking at the list he couldn't help but agree.

Turning to the Commodore he asked "Do we have an image of the target".

The Commodore said "Yes" before turning to the aide who seemed to get the message and placed the photo of a forty year old man on the projector.

"Any further questions" seeing everybody shake there heads he said "Good report to Warehouse 42. I believe Professor Cormac has some new gear for you. After that you are to go to the airstrip where a plane will be waiting to take you to there. Once on the ground you will meet up with MI-5 personnel already on site. They can give you a more up to date briefing dismissed".

**RAF Colerne**

**Wilshire, Southern England**

**United Kingdom**

**January 15th 1952**

Five hours later and the transport plane containing the three SG teams was about to touch down at RAF Colerne. Looking to the side he saw the new EM-2R rifles that had been given to them by the Professor. While there wasn't many differences the main was that it was modelled after the new EM-2. As it was the newest model it featured the new rail system for additional attachments. Which at present was occupied by a stripped down version of the serpent side arm.

Over the past eight months the scientists had been trying to understand how it worked. It was determined that the weapon functioned by sending an electrical pulse that on first shot stunned the target with the second shot proving fatal. They had with some trial and error managed to reconfigure the weapon into a more useful form. The trigger for the weapon sat further down from the main trigger.

_At least it will make this operation easier _he thought. Before he could think on it any further the pilots voice came over the intercom. "This is the captain. All passengers please fasten your restraints and prepare for landing".

"Alright people you heard the captain" as the men fastened their restraints he looked out the window as the plane began to descend. Seeing the plane get lower and lower he braced himself before with a hard thud the plane touched down on the runway. Before slowly taxing to the hanger.

With a jolt the plane stopped and the colonel could here the sound of the engines shutting down. Then hearing the bolts for the cockpit hatch he looked up just in time to see it open and the pilot say "Hope you folks have had a pleasant flight" before opening the side door and Jonathan exited first. Looking around he could see a number of Hawker Hunters and at the hanger entrance three Land Rovers in British Army Green. With a man in a army uniform standing next to the middle one.

Hearing somebody groan he turned back around to see Lieutenant Snyder looking rather unsteady as he got out of the plane. Smirking he said "Something wrong nancy" to which the Lieutenant responded with "I hate flying".

Chuckling he said "Lets go" turned back around and headed towards the agent. Upon reaching the area the agent asked "Colonel McKay?".

Handing him his ID he said "That's correct".

To which the agent seemed satisfied as he handed the ID back and said "You may refer to me as Agent Smith I will be the liaison between your unit and MI-5. If you have any questions just ask".

Jonathan nodded before saying "Any change in activity".

"None at present. Guards regularly patrol the manor house in teams of two. There is a brief gap during the changing of the guard but this isn't for very long. Only a couple of minutes at most before the next shift takes over" the agent replied.

"Do you have a clearer idea of how many people we are facing"

"While we can't give an accurate assessment we believe that there are close to fifty people within the manor itself this includes the guards. Although we believe that all of them have been brainwashed and will defend their 'God' fanatically to the death. We don't know how it was done but by what we can gather from accounts of ex members. It was done extremely quickly which is highly disturbing to the intelligence community. We understand if it isn't possible but could you whilst you are inside find out how it was done. It may help us find a defence for it" the agent replied.

_Sure like a defence is all you want _he thought with a scowl. But he didn't let his thoughts show as he naturally replied "I will see what I can do but the target takes priority".

Agent Smith didn't seem to be effected as he said "Understood". Before the team piled into the Land Rovers and they set off. For the next forty minutes the teams drove in silence before finally arriving at the edge of a wooded area.

"This is as far as I can take you without being spotted. The manor is three miles away through those woods" the agent said as the teams disembarked from the three cars before getting out himself. Walking over to the hood of the he pulled out a map of the manor before the team commanders joined him.

"Now MI-5 recon units have been able to make a concealed entrance here" he said indicating a position on the map. "We have also been able to locate an escape tunnel here. We have been able to track this tunnel and it leads all the way to a ladder that should provide covert access to the building. That was all we had been able to find out without tipping off the cultists. We have multiple agents surrounding the manor in sniper positions and they are available to you should you need to use them. Their radio frequency is noted down on this" he paused passing a slip of paper to Jonathan "I am afraid that is all the help I can give you. Good luck gentlemen" he finished before the agent got back into the car and along with the other two drivers drove off.

"Alright people you know the drill. I want SG's two, three and four to assault the manor from three directions on the surface while my team SG one will go in via the escape tunnel". Checking his watch he continued "We have three hours till sunset so we will make the assault under the cover of darkness. All team members have two Goa'uld shock grenades so use them wisely. And remember they are loud so only use them if you have to. Let's move" he finished.

And as one the sixteen strong group made their way into woods.

**Woods near Target House**

**Wiltshire, Southern England**

**United Kingdom**

**January 15th 1952**

The sun had set an hour ago and the moon had just risen. All teams had managed to get into position more than half an hour ago. Disguised in ghillie suits they where lying in wait for the next change in the guard. The silence was something that always unnerved Jonathan and remained him of his activities in Normandy blowing up supply depots. Clearing his head he checked the watch _Only a few minutes left_.

Pressing the button on his radio he whispered "All teams prepare to move in". As the time got closer he tapped the transmit button two times the signal to get ready. Seeing the guards begin to walk inside he pressed the button a final time.

The operation had begun.

Using hand signals them teams moved silently with SG-1 quickly reaching the concealed escape tunnel and climbing down the ladder. The colonel was the first in sweeping the empty corridor before the rest of the team followed him down. With the team together they moved silently down the corridor passing by several store rooms. Before they reached the end of the tunnel which looked like a grain silo with a hatch at the end and an circular indentation in the floor.

Taking a look at it Lieutenant Snyder whispered "This is exactly like the one we found on the desert planet".

Jonathan looked at him before replying "I think this confirms our theory. Lieutenant Armstrong stand guard here". Before opening the hatch and ascending the ladder being careful not to make any noise. Reaching the top the colonel pushed open the hatch emerging into what looked like a store room. Looking around he could easily see the more serpent side arms and shock grenades.

Trying the door handle and finding that it refused to budge Jonathan whispered "It's locked".

"Let me" Lieutenant Snyder replied as he pulled a long metal paper clip which he bent into a straight line and proceeded to pick the lock. A few moments later there was a click as the lock disconnected.

"Alright everybody get ready" Jonathan whispered before he pressed the button on the radio a final time. Before gently opening the door and moving inside.

Outside the other teams commenced the assault and the MI-5 snipers quickly eliminated the four guards manning the fifty cal's. The teams advanced quickly and silently using their secondary weapons to knock out the guards on the outside. Before entering the manor themselves.

Inside the SG1 continued to move silently through the manor making their way towards the master bedroom eliminating guards as they went. Meeting SG2 as they made their way up the stairs from the ground floor they silently joined them sweeping the rooms of the first floor. After rounding the corner the team arrived at the master bedroom. Lining up on either side of the door Jonathan slowly turned the handle and pushed the door open.

Quietly entering the room and seeing the target sleeping peacefully he raised his rifle and fired a stun pulse. "Clear" he said no longer bothering to whisper and walked over to search the target. Finding some kind of golden bracelet he removed it before securing the target.

Unplugging his radio he said "All teams target is secure. I repeat target is secure. Report your status".

"This is SG2 were clear".

"This is SG3 all targets subdued".

"This is SG4 all targets subdued though we had to use the grenades".

Hearing this the colonel smiled before he switched frequency on his radio and said "This is Colonel McKay mission accomplished. Requesting Evac".

"Evac request acknowledged Colonel ETA four minutes" came the reply from agent smith. As they bound the survivors and made them ready for transport the colonel had one thought running through his head.

_Mission Accomplished_

**Interrogation Room**

**Naval Intelligence Headquarters, Scapa Flow**

**Scotland, United Kingdom**

**January 16th 1952**

Rousing of unconsciousness Seth immediately knew something was wrong. For one thing he had been expecting to wake up in a comfortable silk lined bed. Instead what greeted him was the feeling of cold hard metal. The second thing he noticed was that he was sat up right. Attempting to move his arms he found that they where bound together which it also seemed to apply to his legs.

Opening his eyes he looked around and found that he was in a barren room with a glass window on his left. Immediately he started pulling against his restrains attempting to use his superior strength to break them however this proved futile as they failed to break. Hearing a buzzing sound he looked over to the door in time to see the red light turn green as the door opened revealing a white man dressed in a suit and tie.

"**RELEASE ME!"** he shouted **"****NOW"** as he once again pulled against the restrains trying to stand up. The however man didn't appear to be affected and calmly walked over and sat down in the opposite him.

"You are in no position to negotiate" the unknown man said.

"**I AM A GOD! RELEASE ME OR YOU ALL BURN!"**.

The man snorted before he started laughing As the man slowly stopped laughing "Sorry haven't heard such a good joke in a long time. You are no god. In fact you are nothing more than a parasite". Upon hearing his response _The utter nerve_ Seth thought. Though he was rather surprised that is man knew his true nature he couldn't let this upstart know that. Seeing that this was going nowhere he merely growled and sat back down in the chair.

Seeing this the man seemed to smile "Now that you have calmed down we can get to business".

"**What do you want" **Seth asked.

"Here is the deal. You will tell us everything you know about the Goa'uld. Their planets, technology and tactics and how to duplicate that technology".

"**And why would I agree to this 'Deal'" **he replied.

"Because either you co-operate with us or you will deal with Ra. And I doubt that he will be as forgiving the us".

All attempts at concealing his emotions failed at that point. He was keenly aware of what Ra would do to him after thousands of years. His vengeance wouldn't be swift or gentle.

"**What do I get out of this deal"**.

The man smiled "Simple you will still be confined to this facility however you will be allowed some freedom of movement although you will be guard at all times. You will get some luxuries and access to information from the outside world. Simply put you will be treated like a prisoner of war. Should you refuse well you know the alternative".

Seeing he had no choice he said **"Very ****w****ell I accept your deal".**

**January **

With Seth's cooperation assured a number of new discoveries are made. His first contribution the technical blueprints for the Ma'tok staff weapon and the Zat'nik'tel side arm. However his most interesting revelation is the uses of the material known as Naquadah.

Naquadah is a very stable super-dense material and the cornerstone of all Goa'uld technology. The metal has many uses thanks to its superconductive properties and ability to be used in power generation. This is thanks to the materials ability to store and amplify energy. Not only that but it can be used as a power source. This makes the scientists get extremely excited as the uses for this material are practically limitless. With this information at hand the decision is made to contact the locals and see if they can gain control of the Naquadah mine.

The locals of the town now known to Nagada prove to be extremely friendly and think that they are in service of Ra. The teams make no effort to correct this assumption as they didn't want anybody to discover who they where should he return. Thankfully the last time he visited seemed have been two years ago with him appearing every twenty years. With control over the town established technical experts move in and begin to improve the infrastructure in particular its water and establish a hospital. At the mine the workers are introduced to modern mining techniques.

A steady stream of raw Naquadah is now coming through the gate. Until the refinery is completed on the Isle of Mull the material will begin to be stockpiled in a guarded warehouse.

In addition a number of artefacts are recovered from Seth's compound. After evaluations it is discovered that the recovered cultists are now completely free from the brainwashing. When asked how this was possible Seth reluctantly reveals that the substance he used is known as Nish'ta. It is a biological compound that when absorbed into the blood stream makes the victims mind extremely pliable allowing the user to implant any suggestion in the victims mind. It can be countered by using an electrical discharge he then writes down the chemical formula and how to create the compound.

This is put into immediate effect by MI-5 who successfully manage to kidnap Kim Philby who the knew had been operating as a Russian spy. Thanks to the use of Nish'ta he willing gives them all the information they need to round up further spy's. Within two weeks the partially rebuilt Russian spy network is completely under the control of MI-5. Who will go on to use it great effect throughout the Cold War.

The final tally of the operation is another one hundred and fifty Ma'tok's and seventy Zat'nik'tel's are recovered. Along with Seth's Hand Device, over a half a billion pounds in American Dollars and the same in gold bullion. This is immediately used to pay off a third of the debt to US. When asked about how they came across it they simply explain that they are seized assets from a cult that was attempting to orchestrate a communist revolution.

This explanation satisfies the US government although President Truman worries that his leverage over the UK government is slipping. With the war debt owed to the US now down to one point seven billion dollars and the upcoming atom bomb test he will soon lose this leverage.

Just before the end of the month the engineers on Abydos finally manage to breakthrough the passageway to find that the room is filled with sand. It is estimated that it will take the remainder of the year to clear it.

**February **

With the threat of the Goa'uld and the composition of their fleet clear. It becomes clear to the Ministry of War that the current plans for the 'V' bomber force that was supposed to carry the United Kingdoms nuclear deterrent are far to vulnerable to orbital strike. Therefore the decision is made to switch to a submarine based deterrent as it prevents the loss of strike capability in a single blow.

In order to accommodate this two new designs for a Naquadah powered submarine are submitted. Nuclear power was considered but a Naquadah reactor would not only be more powerful but far more compact than its Nuclear equivalent. The first of these designs is that of a Fast-Attack Submarine. Named the Type 01 Dreadnought-Class it would be the first of a new hull design. At a length on 110 metres and with a displacement of 6,500 tonnes they would be able to travel at 35 knots on the surface and 27 knots submerged. An armament of eight 21 inch torpedo tubes and eight vertical launch tubes would complete the submarine.

The second submarine would be entirely based around its ability to deliver its weapons onto the target. As such the Type 02 Conqueror-Class Ballistic Missile Submarine would be equipped with two 21 torpedo tubes and twenty four vertical launch tubes. At a length of 170 metres and a displacement of 16,500 tonnes they would be the largest submarines in the world.

In addition a new submarine launched missile would be designed that would be able to engage targets in orbit. This missile was named Trident and was secluded to be ready for testing in four years time. These would be funded by a reduction in the 'V' bomber force. The planes themselves would be used for other tasks. The Vickers Valiant would be converted for Aerial Refuelling and Reconnaissance.

King George the Sixth dies of Lung Cancer aged fifty six and the country goes into morning. His daughter Princess Elizabeth receives the news while in Kenya and quickly returns home with her husband Prince Phillip. She will be crowned as Queen Elizabeth the Second on the 2nd of June 1953. it is also decided by the cabinet that they will inform her of the existence of the stargate and Imperial Stargate Operations sometime after the coronation.

**October **

Operation Hurricane the detonation of the United Kingdoms first nuclear bomb takes place on the 2nd of October. The ten megaton nuclear explosion announces Britain's presence as the worlds third nuclear power.

The test of the Naquadah enhanced nuclear bomb takes place on October 4th. The bomb contain only five grams of Naquadah explodes with the force of a thirty megaton bomb becoming the largest nuclear explosion in history. The fireball rose to more than 600 feat high and could be seen over 500 miles away. The size of the explosion would nearly prove fatal to the crew of the Cruiser HMS Blake which was assigned as a monitoring ship.

The US was surprised at the wield of the weapon as it was far larger than the planned ten megaton hydrogen bomb test in November. As such the government requests information as to how this was accomplished. But this is rebuffed as a mater of national security.

This is something of a snub as the US had used the same excuse to renege of the Quebec Agreement. Officially this is excepted though begrudgingly by the US Government who could go on to detonate 'George' the first Hydrogen Bomb. Though unlike the UK device this wouldn't be deployable until years later and was far smaller. Never the less Winston Churchill orders that a British Hydrogen Bomb would be built and detonated by 1957. it would remain the largest nuclear blast until the test of Russian 'Tsar Bomba' which had a wield of fifty megatons.

Both of these would be dropped by the Vickers Valiant part of the three 'V' bombers and would be the only one to perform its intended role before the redesign. Work begins on minimising the warhead for use on 'Trident'.

This incident would prompt the USSR to send more spy's to Britain to attempt to find out out it was accomplished. However thanks to the use of Nish'ta this would prove to be a failure with the returning spy's setting up the British Spy Ring within the country. In particular they where to focus on the Soviet Space Program.


End file.
